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MARSHALL  FIELD 
AND  COMPANY 

THE  LIFE   STORY   OF 
A  GREAT  CONCERN 


MARSHALL  FIELD 
AND   COMPANY 

THE    LIFE    STORY    OF 
A    GREAT    CONCERN 


By 
S.    H.    DITCHETT 

H 

Editor  of  the 
Dry  Goods  Economist 


First  Edition 


NEW  YORK 
DRY  GOODS  ECONOMIST 

1922 


Copyrighted 
Dry  Goods  Economist 


c  <  ;  ' 

lie' 


fEDEBAL    PRINTING    CO.,    KEW    YORK 


Qy 


INTRODUCTION 

"D  EALIZING  the  salient  position  which  the  Mar- 
■*-^  shall  Field  &  Co.  institution,  through  its  retail, 
wholesale  and  manufacturing  activities,  holds  in  Amer- 
ican merchandising ;  realizing  also  the  value  an  authen- 
tic history  of  that  great  concern  would  have  for  dry 
goods  men  throughout  the  world,  the  Dry  Goods  Econ- 
omist prepared  and  published  serially  the  chapters 
which  comprise  this  volume.  This  life  story  of  a  great 
concern  is  based  on  facts  obtained  at  first  hand  not  only 
by  the  Economist's  editor  but  also  by  W.  L.  Pollard,  a 
former  member  of  the  Economist  staff,  who  made  the 
initial  investigations.  Both  the  editor  and  Mr.  Pollard 
spent  many  days  in  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  establish- 
ments in  Chicago  and  also  at  the  firm's  manufacturing 
plants  in  North  Carolina  and  Virginia. 

Showing  as  it  does  the  broad  policies  and  sound 
principles  on  which  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  business 
has  been  built  up  and  maintained,  the  series  has  aroused 
keen  interest  among  business  men  in  this  country  and 
abroad.  We  feel,  therefore,  that  the  publication  of  the 
series  in  book  form  will  meet  a  real  and  general  demand. 


497923 


CONTENTS 


Chapter            I — Early  Days  of  the  Firm's  Founder 11 

Chapter  II — Marshall  Field  Becomes  an  Expert  Salesman   ...  15 

Chapter          III — Formation  of  Firm  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co 20 

Chapter  IV — Retail  Removed  to  State  and  Washington  ....  25 

Chapter  V — Quick  Work  Follows  the  Great  Fire  of  1871      ...  32 

Chapter  VI — John  G.  Shedd  Joins  the  Field  Organization      ...  39 

Chapter  VII — The  Firm  op  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  Is  Born          ...  46 

Chapter  VIII — The  Retail  Business  in  the  Early  90's       ....  51 

Chapter  IX — John  G.  Shedd  Succeeds  to  the  Presidency          ...  56 

Chapter           X — ^New  Marks  Set  in  Retailing 60 

Chapter  XI — The  "Store  for  Men"  Another  Step  Forward     ...  66 

Chapter  XII— The  First  to  Establish  an  Underprice  Basement       .         .  70 

Chapter  XIII — Advertising  Policies  of  the  Retail  Store    .         .         .'        .  76 

Chapter  XIV^Individuality  in  Advertising  and  Attractions    ...  81 

Chapter  XV — Display  Methods  That  Have  Won  Renown          ...  87 

Chapter  XVI — ^Training  of  Employees  and  Personnel  Work      ...  92 

Chapter  XVII^Early  Days  of  the  Wholesale  Business      ....  99 

Chapter  XVIII — Production  and  Distribution  Policies  Exemplified    .         .  103 

Chapter  XIX — Insistence  on  Quality  in  Merchandise       .         .         .         .  107 

Chapter  XX — Careful  Supervision  of  Manufacturing  Plants          .         .  Ill 

Chapter  XXI— Village  at  Fieldale  and  Other  Textile  Plants  .         .         .  116 

Chapter  XXII — Zion  Lace  Industries  and  Other  Factories          .         .         .  123 

Chapter  XXIII — Wonderful  Workrooms  in  Retail  Store       ....  127 

Chapter  XXIV — System  and  Methods  in  the  Wholesale  Branch          .         .  133 

Chapter  XXV — ^Effective  Public  Service  on  Many  Occasions       .         .         .  138 

Chapter  XXVI — The  New  York  Office  and  Its  Manifold  Operations    .         .  145 

Chapter  XXVII — The  Chief  Executives  of  the  Institution  ....  151 


MARSHALL  FIELD 
AND    COMPANY 

THE  LIFE  STORY  OF 
A  GREAT  CONCERN 


MARSHALL  FIELD  &  COMPANY 

THE  LIFE  STORY  OF  A  GREAT  CONCERN 


CHAPTER  I 
EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  FIRM'S  FOUNDER 


EARLY  in  1850  a  farmer  from  the  Berk- 
shire Hills  and  his  son   drove  up  to  a 
little  store  in  Conway,  Mass.    Entering 
the  store,  the  farmer  said  to  the  proprietor: 

"Jim,  my  son,  here,  wants  to  become  a 
merchant.    Try  him  out  for  a  few  weeks  and 
let  me  know  what  his 
chances  are." 

Then  the  farmer 
drove  away,  leaving 
behind  him  a  lad  of 
sixteen,  a  shy  young 
fellow,  timorous  and 
reserved. 

The  merchant  put 
the  lad  to  work,  dust- 
ing shelves  and  ar- 
ranging stock,  and 
though  he  did  his 
work  well  and  worked 
hard,  his  endeavors 
did  not  seem  to  meet 
with  much  favor.  The 
merchant  found  that 
while  the  new  boy 
soon  acquired  a  good 
knowledge  of  stocks 
and  at  once  began  a 
methodical  record  of 
prices  and  quantities, 
h  e  continually  a  n  - 
noyed  h  i  s  employer 
by  suggesting 
changes  —  or  "im- 
provements," as  the 
new  boy  called  them. 

After  two  weeks  in  the  store,  during  which 
the  relations  between  employer  and  employee 
were  none  too  pleasant,  the  farmer  returned. 

"Well,  Jim,  how's  the  son  doing?  Will  he 
make  a  good  merchant?" 


Marshall  Field  at  twenty-four  years  of  age 


"Take  him  away,  John  Field ;  your  son  will 

never  be  a  merchant;  he  is  no  good.    Put  him 

back  on  the  farm." 

And  so  young  Field,  the  boy  of  sixteen, 

went  back  on  the  farm,   which  he  disliked. 

There  he  stayed  for  two  years.    During  that 

period  the  family  had 
moved,  and  in  1852 
young  Field  secured 
his  second  job  in  mer- 
chandising work,  en- 
tering the  store  of 
Deacon  Davis  of 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  as 
salesman. 

Years  later  Davis 
said  of  him: 

"He  was  about  the 
queerest  looking  boy 
I  ever  saw  when  he 
came  to  work  for  me. 
He  was  with  me  four 
years,  and  though  he 
learned  fast  and 
seemed  to  have  an  un- 
canny knowledge  of 
merchandise  and  a  re- 
markable memory  for 
stocks  and  prices,  I 
never  thought  he'd  be 
a  great  merchant." 

In  fact,  there  is  a 
story  in  the  Berkshire 
country  that  when 
young  Field  told  Dea- 
con Davis  he  was  go- 
merchant  laughed  at 


ing  West  that  worthy 
him  and  said: 

"You  go  West?  You'll  never  make  a  suc- 
cess out  there.  You'd  better  take  an  older 
man's    advice    and    stay    nearer    home.    You 


11 


],2',: 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


get   out   there   and  you'll    starve  to   death." 

Young  Field  is  said  to  have  confidently  re- 
sponded: "I'm  going;  and  some  day  I'll  have  a 
store  out  there  the  doors  of  which  mil  he 
worth  more  than  your  whole  building  here." 

Young  Field  was  born  on  a  farm  in  the 
foothills  of  the  Connecticut  River  valley  Aug. 
18,  1834.  His  people  were  New  Englanders 
of  old  stock,  some  of  them  having  early  settled 
on  Cape  Cod  and  moved  to  the  Connecticut 
River  valley.  The  boy  was  reared  in  the  stern 
Puritanical  atmosphere  of  repression  which 
was  the  rule  in  the  New  England  homes  of 
the  day.  He  was  a  farmer's  son,  raised  in 
a  community  of  farmers,  yet  he  disliked 
farming,  and  from  earliest  boyhood  began  to 
plan  a  career  for  himself  in  some  other  line 
of  endeavor. 

The  farmer's  life  of  the  period  gave  little 
time  for  recreation  or  emotional  development. 
Days  on  the  farm  were  long  and  tedious,  Sun- 
days were  days  of  rest  but  devoted  to  religious 
duties.  There  were  few  books,  and  fewer 
newspapers;  school  terms  were  short,  and  the 
average  boy  attended  but  a  few  terms.  The 
daughters  of  the  farm  received  even  less  of  an 
education.  The  Bible  was  the  chief  book  of 
instruction  and  inspiration. 

Boys  of  a  romantic  turn  of  mind  looked 
forward  to  an  adventurous  life  on  the  Western 
plains  or  planned  to  be  missionaries.  Thus, 
western  Massachusetts  supplied  many  notable 
frontiersmen,  as  well  as  numerous  mission- 
aries who  carried  the  Gospel  to  the  Indians 
of  the  West  or  to  more  distant  lands. 

Intolerance  of  differing  views  was  the  rule. 
Life  was  narrow  and  circumscribed,  stern  and 
forbidding. 

Yet  these  very  circumstances  developed  a 
mighty  reserve  power  in  the  growing  boy  and 
he  early  learned  to  realize  that  into  anything 
he  touched  he  must  put  all  of  his  energy. 
"Whatever  is  worth  doing  at  all  is  worth  do- 
ing well,"  was  an  axiom  in  common  use. 

So  when  young  Field  decided  to  become  a 
merchant  he  consecrated  his  life  to  that  voca- 
tion in  the  same  spirit,  and  perhaps  with  as 
much  zeal,  as  numbers  of  his  youthful  com- 


panions felt  when  they  became  explorers  of 
our  wild  lands  or  gave  their  lives  to  mission- 
ary endeavor. 

SCHOOLED  in  an  atmosphere  of  absolute 
reality,  imbibing  from  father,  mother 
and  other  elders  the  stern  code  derived  from 
a  literal  interpretation  of  every  sentence  of 
the  Bible,  the  boy,  impressionable  yet  shy  and 
reserved,  early  developed  a  sane,  clear  view 
of  life.  Unconsciously,  perhaps,  yet  none  the 
less  surely  guided  by  the  early  impressions 
and  teachings,  he  built  his  business  on  a  code 
upright  and  exact  as  those  rules  of  living 
which  his  parents  and  environment  had  in- 
stilled. 

The  period  of  the  early  '50's  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  era  of  Western  development. 
Gold  in  California,  vast  prairies  in  the  Missis- 
sippi basin,  Indians  and  buffalo  in  the  North- 
west— all  gave  promise  of  prosperity  or  of 
excitement  to  the  white  settler  who  would 
brave  the  danger  and  migrate  Westward.  New 
Englanders  by  the  thousands  were  following 
the  lure.  Most  of  the  ambitious  young  men 
looked  forward  to  establishing  themselves  in 
thei  new  territories — some  as  farmers,  others 
in  search  of  adventure,  many  attracted  by  the 
merchandising  possibilities  which  naturally 
follow  settlements  in  a  new  country.  Look 
over  the  names  of  the  successful  retail  con- 
cerns of  western  New  York,  Ohio,  the  Chicago 
territory  and  the  Mississippi  basin  and  you 
will  find  store  after  store  that  was  founded  by 
some  New  Englander,  who,  possessed  of  the 
proverbial  Yankee  trading  instinct,  started  a 
store  at  some  frontier  post. 

At  an  early  period  in  his  career  young 
Field  decided  to  be  a  merchant,  and  from  the 
day  he  came  to  that  decision  until  the  close  of 
his  long  and  busy  life  he  invariably  described 
himself  by  that  appellation,  even  though  in 
his  later  years  the  merchandising  work  of  the 
great  concern  bearing  the  name  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  was  carried  on  by  men  whom  he 
had  developed,  while  his  own  time  was  largely 
devoted  to  broad  financial  problems.  Here  is 
an  incident  which  illustrates  this: 


Early  Days  of  the  Firms  Founder 


13 


A  few  years  before  Mr.  Field's  death  a  re- 
porter for  a  London  paper  sought  an  inter- 
view on  his  life's  work.  Mr.  Field  received 
the  reporter  kindly,  but  refused  to  volunteer 
any  information  about  himself.  The  reporter 
read  off  a  list  of  some  thirty  large  corporations 
in  which  Mr.  Field  was  assumed  to  have  im- 
portant interests,  and  asked,  was  it  true  that 
he  dominated  these  vast  enterprises? 

"Dominate  is  too  strong  a  word.  I  own 
stock  in  all  of  them,  and  am  an  officer  in  prac- 
tically all,"  was  the  reply. 

"Then,"  said  the  reporter,  "I  shall  charac- 
terize you  as  a  financial  genius,  a  banker  and 
a  builder." 

"I  am  a  merchant,  and  that's  all  you  need 
say."    And  that  was  the  final  word. 

Marshall  Field,  the  farsighted  merchant, 
the  forceful  merchant,  the  man  who  developed 
in  his  establishment  scores  of  merchants  who 


either  added  their  energy  to  the  expansion  of 
the  firm  in  which  they  had  received  their  train- 
ing or  left  and  built  great  enterprises  of  their 
own!  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  whose  business 
has  come  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  vast  univer- 
sity for  merchants;  it  is  difficult  to  state  in 
categorical  terms  all  that  the  name  stands  for 
in  the  mercantile  world  to-day.  It  is  difficult 
to  gage  the  breadth  of  merchandising  vision 
of  its  founder — a  man  who,  from  the  day  of 
his  decision  to  become  a  merchant  until  the 
day  of  his  death,  was,  in  his  own  mind,  al- 
ways a  merchant.- 

Yet,  on  studying  his  career,  and  those  of 
the  men  he  developed  around  him,  his  visions 
and  his  dreams  are  seen  to  blend  into  fact  be- 
cause his  great  and  indomitable  energy  forced 
them  to  become  realities,  and  because  behind 
every  dream,  every  plan,  every  project  there 
-was  an  honesty  and  integrity  of  purpose  that 
nothing  could  change,  nothing  could  defeat. 


From   a  print  furnished   by   the   Chicago    Historical   Society 

Street  scene  in  Chicago  in  the  late  so's 


14 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


Marshall  Field,  pronounced  a  failure  and 
an  incompetent  by  his  first  employer,  judged 
to  be  a  mere  mediocrity  by  his  second,  through 
perseverance,  attention  to  detail,  and  insistency 
on  honesty  and  character  in  every  dealing, 
realized  his  visions,  his  dreams  of  merchandis- 
ing, and  founded,  in  the  city  of  his  choice, 
what  was  to  become  a  business  that  was  to 
include  the  world's  largest  retail  store  and 
America's  largest  wholesale  house  and  was  to 
develop,  even  after  its  founder  had  passed 
away,  great  manufacturing  plants  producing 
various  kinds  of  merchandise  suitable  to  the 
needs  of  its  exacting  clientele. 

MARSHALL  FIELD  served  a  severe  ap- 
prenticeship in  his  years  of  work  in  the 
Davis  store,  from  1852  to  1855,  inclusive. 
As  was  the  custom  in  those  days,  the  store  was 
swept,  dusted  and  ready  for  business  by  "sun- 
up," and  by  him,  as  junior  clerk,  these  tasks 
were  fulfilled.  At  an  almost  similarly  early 
hour  his  employer  reached  the  store,  and  after 
a  brief  prayer,  in  which  all  hands  joined,  the 
store  was  opened  for  the  day's  business. 

Those  who  knew  the  Field  boys  at  the  time 
— his  elder  brother,  Joseph  N.  Field  was  also 
employed  in  the  town — saw  in  them  no  re- 
markable qualities.  They  were  honest,  indus- 
trious, dependable  lads,  but  in  neither  was 
there  apparent  any  sign  of  genius. 

Young  Field,  however,  acquired  remarkable 
knowledge  of  the  store's  stocks  and  prices.  He 
carried  in  his  pocket  a  memorandum  book  in 
which  all  jroods  were  listed,  but  so  accurate 
was  his  memory  that  seldom  did  he  find  it 
necessary  to  refer  to  these  data.  His  ability 
to  sense  the  wants  of  his  women  customers, 
especially  in  the  dry  goods  lines,  was  another 
thing  which  aroused  favorable  comment,  and 
though  he  was  the  junior  clerk  numerous  cus- 
tomers would  ask  that  Field  be  allowed  to 
serve  them. 

Outside  of  the  store,  shy  and  diffident  as 
he  was  and  afflicted  with  the  bashfulness  of 
youth,  few  were  attracted  to  the  young  man. 
He  did  his  work  with  painstaking  thorough- 
ness,  was   kind,   considerate,   courteous    and 


eager  to  serve ;  yet  he  had  few  associates,  and 
no  record  can  be  found  of  anyone  with  whom 
he  was  on  a  basis  of  intimacy.  It  was  later 
said  of  him  by  a  trusted  advisor  that  "Mar- 
shall Field  could  not  draw  love  and  affec- 
tion, but  he  did  draw  respect  and  admiration." 

To  these  characteristics,  apparent  in  his 
early  days,  is  doubtless  traceable  his  consistent 
adherence  to  this  principle  in  the  buying  and 
selling  of  merchandise :  not  how  cheap  it  could 
^be  sold  but  how  much  service  it  would  give  to 
the  customer. 

There  was  indeed  in  Mr.  Field's  nature  a 
strong  religious  cast.  He  always  held  in  deep 
reverence  his  early  home  life  and  his  people. 
Someone  wrote  of  his  mother,  "She  reared  her 
sons  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  evil  and  to  re- 
gard a  fixed  bad  habit  as  one  of  the  dangers 
always  threatening  success." 

Clipped  from  some  paper,  Marshall  Field 
carried  this  quotation  with  him  for  many 
years.  Shortly  before  his  death,  when  asked 
what  had  contributed  to  his  success,  he 
handed  the  extract  to  his  questioner  and 
asked  him  to  read  it.     Then  said  Mr.  Field: 

"That  helped." 

Marshall  Field's  departure  from  Pittsfield 
and  his  arrival  in  Chicago  took  place  early  in 
1856. 

His  removal  was  preceded  by  that  of 
his  brother,  Joseph.  The  latter  also  selected 
Chicago  as  the  city  for  his  career  and  short- 
ly before  Marshall  Field  started  for  the  West 
had  obtained  employment  in  a  commission 
house  on  South  Water  Street. 

Before  he  left  Pittsfield,  young  Field  made 
the  acquaintance  of  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  who 
afterward  became  such  a  power  in  finance. 
Some  business  relations  with  Deacon  Davis 
caused  Morgan's  father  to  take  a  trip  to  Pitts- 
field. 

"^  He  brought  with  him  his  son,  and  Dea- 
con Davis  gave  to  Marshall  Field  the  task  of 
entertaining  the  young  visitor  during  his  stay 
in  town.  The  acquaintanceship  thus  formed 
later  ripened  into  a  warm  friendship,  which 
lasted  throughout  the  lifetime  of  these  two 
great  men. 


CHAPTER  II 
MARSHALL  FIELD  BECOMES  AN  EXPERT  SALESMAN 


WHEN  he  arrived  in  Chicago,  young 
Marshall  Field  was  just  entering  his 
twenty-second  year.  He  had,  as  has 
been  shown,  served  his  apprenticeship  and  been 
well  grounded  in  an  exacting  school.  Love  of 
truth,  devotion  to  work,  ability  to  endure  long 
hours  of  toil  and  the  habit  of  self-denial  had 
become  the  mainsprings  of  his  life. 

His  first  move  was  to  acquaint  himself  with 
the  best  stores  in  the  city. 

Although  the  streets  were  unpaved  and, 
for  the  most  part,  muddy  and  mean,  and 
though  its  residents  and  visitors  were  rough 
and  untutored,  Chicago  in  those  early  days 
possessed  stores  that  were  well  known,  even 
in  the  East.  The  most  prominent  were  those 
of  Cooley,  Wadsworth  &  Co.  and  of  Potter 
Palmer.  The  business  of  Cooley,  Wadsworth 
&  Co.,  located  at  what  are  now  Nos.  42  to  46 
Wabash  Avenue,  was  largely  wholesale,  while 
the  Potter  Palmer  store,  at  112  Lake  Street, 
led  in  the  city's  retail  trade. 

It  was  with  the  former  concern  that  young 
Field    obtained    employment.     Shortly    after- 
ward the  firm  became  Cooley,  Farwell  &  Co. 
^  The  concern  had  the  reputation  of  being 

one  of  the  best  posted  of  the  Chicago  houses 
and  as  having  the  best  methods  in  connection 
with  the  granting  of  credits. 

The  West  of  that  day  was  so  new  that  there 
were  no  credit  standards.  Commercial  rating 
agencies  had  not  been  dreamed  of.  Each  ap- 
plicant for  credit  had  to  be  judged  on  Ms  indi- 
vidual merits,  and  the  credit  man  had  to  be 
a  mighty  good  judge  of  human  nature.  For 
the  Western  country  was  filled  with  specula- 
tors, with  gamblers,  with  men  who  had  mi- 
grated for  a  variety  of  reasons,  some  of  them 
shady  enough.  Yet,  among  them  were  honest, 
hard  working,  energetic  and  loyal  men,  who 
were  striving  to  establish  farms  and  homes, 
and  businesses,  and  by  so  doing  build  up  the 
West.     It  was  this  class   of  customers  that 


Cooley,  Farwell  &  Co.  sought.  Some  of  them 
might  not  have  as  much  ready  cash  a^  their 
speculating  neighbors,  but  they  were  stable, 
reliable  and  trustworthy. 

^  Chicago,  too,  was  becoming  a  great  whole- 
sale center.  Salesmen  were  traveling  as  far 
west  as  the  Mississippi  and  into  the  new  coun- 
try toward  the  north.  Applications  for  credit, 
therefore,  were  coming  in  from  many  sources. 
In  many  cases  the  applicant  for  credit  could 
not  visit  Chicago;  so  credit  men  from  the 
Cooley-Farwell  store,  by  team  or  saddle  horse, 
if  necessary,  took  periodical  journeys,  vis- 
iting little  settlements  in  the  woods  or  on 
the  plains  and  interviewing  the  local  store- 
keepers. 
"  Thus  the  concern  became  widely  known  for 
its  extensive  and  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
West  .and  of  Western  conditions.  Moreover, 
John  V.  Farwell,  its  junior  partner,  had  early 
made  a  study  of  Western  commercial  life,  and 
he  had  established  for  his  concern  a  credit 
standard  considerably  more  strict  than  that 
which  usually  prevailed  in  those  days.  As  a 
result,  the  house  enjoyed  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion in  financial  circles  and  among  the  im- 
porters and  manufacturers  of  whom  it  bought. 


THE  Potter  Palmer  store  stood  at  a  short 
distance  from  Cooley,  Farwell  &  Co.'s. 
Palmer  had  come  to  Chicago  from 
Oneida,  N.  Y..  where  he  had  owned  a  retail 
store.  He,  too,  was  of  New  England  stock, 
and,  while  described  by  some  of  his  contem- 
poraries as  a  "Yankee  trader,"  he  apparently 
sensed  the  customer's  point  of  view  more 
clearly  than  did  most  retailers  of  that  day.  In 
later  life  Mr.  Palmer  was  described  as  "the 
first  merchant  in  the  Northwest  who  was  not 
a  mere  trader."  Yet  he  had  a  keen  instinct 
for  trading,  and  one  of  the  rules  prevailing 
in  his   store  in  the  early  days  was:     "Get 


15 


16 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


cash  for  your  merchandise,  if  possible;  but,  if 
you  can't  get  cash,  take  furs." 

Most  of  the  Chicago  stores  in  the  late  50's 


his  own  credit  standing  in  the  Eastern  mar- 
kets as  he  was  exacting  as  to  the  granting  of 
credit  to  his  customers.    Thus,  at  a  time  when 


From  a  print  furnished  by  the  Chicago  Historical  Society 

State  Street,  Chicago,  in  the  late  so's 


dealt  in  almost  everything,  from  tallow  candles, 
coffee,  whiskey  and  tobacco  to  dress  goods 
and  crude  furniture.  Some  were  run  partly 
as  taverns,  rooms  above  the  store  being  pro- 
vided for  visiting  customers.  Mr.  Palmer, 
however,  dealt  almost  exclusively  in  dry  goods 
and  lines  closely  allied  thereto.  The  store  also 
differed  from  the  majority  of  the  city's  large 
retail  businesses  in  that  although  it  had  a 
wholesale  department  Mr.  Palmer  devoted 
most  of  his  time  and  attention  to  the  upbuild- 
'"ng  of  his  retail  trade. 

It  was  a  principle  with  Mr.  Palmer  that  if 
a  customer  bade  fair  to  prove  reliable  no  ef- 
fort should  be  spared  to  get  his  trade.  Par- 
ticular care,  however,  was  always  exercised 
in  the  granting  of  credit. 

Mr.  Palmer,  moreover,  was  as  jealous  of 


Eastern  distributors  and  manufacturers  were 
having  continual  trouble  with  their  Western 
customers,  his  house  early  became  known  as 
one  of  the  most  reliable  and  prompt  in  pay- 
ment in  the  United  States. 

In  reaching  out  for  trade,  Mr.  Palmer  ex- 
tended material  aid  to  such  worthy  customers 
as  needed  assistance.  His  wholesale  depart- 
ment lent  its  financial  backing  to  stores  in 
struggling  towns  and  in  various  other  ways 
created  the  feeling  that  the  concern  was  eager 
to  aid  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  new  settlements. 

Mr.  Palmer  had  early  become  a  heavy  in- 
vestor in  Chicago  real  estate,  and  by  1856  he 
was  the  owner  of  many  large  and  valuable 
holdings.  This  interest  brought  him  into 
close  touch  with  the  civic,  industrial  and 
financial   powers    of  the  growing  city.     He 


Marshall  Field  Becomes  an  Expert  Salesman 


17 


also  won  a  prominent  place  in  Chicago's  social 
circles.  Thus  the  Palmer  store  came  into  close 
contact  with  all  the  desirable  elements  of  the 
center.  The  business  was  also  fostered  by  the 
spirit  of  loyalty  developed  among  the  em- 
ployees as  a  result  of  the  attention  given  to 
their  welfare  and  the  pains  taken  to  inspire 
them  with  a  desire  for  industry  and  thrift. 

The  success  of  the  Palmer  store  was  largely 
instrumental  in  Lake  Street  becoming  the  re- 
tail center.  Other  firms  located  there,  and 
the  thoroughfare  continued  to  enjoy  the  ac- 
tivity and  prominence  it  had  won  until  the  re- 
moval to  State  Street,  some  years  later,  of 
Field,  Palmer  &  Leiter,  the  successors  of  the 
Potter  Palmer  concern. 

Among  the  firms  doing  business  on  Lake 


Street  at  the  time  of  its  heyday  in  the  retail 
world  was  the  T.  B.  Carter  Co.,  in  whose  store 
there  worked  as  an  errand  boy  Henry  J.  Will- 
ing, who  later  became  an  important  factor  in 
the  development  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 

IN  Chicago  Marshall  Field  made  as  careful 
an  analysis  of  the  Cooley-Farwell  business 
and  of  the  Western  market  as  he  had  of  the 
stock  and  prices  of  the  Pittsfield  store.  From 
"drummers"  and  frontiersmen,  from  the 
Cooley-Farwell  credit  men  returning  from 
their  trips,  from  Government  officials  and 
from  other  sources  he  gleaned  authentic  in- 
formation. He  learned  of  the  districts  where 
migrants  from  other  sections  were  settling, 
and   of  the  possibilities   such   localities   pre- 


Lake  and  Stale  Streets  in  i860.     The  Field,  Palmer  &  Leiter  store  building  was  in  the  center  of 
this  block. 


18 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


sented.  All  such  data  he  jotted  down  in  his 
little  memorandum  books,  but,  again,  so  reten- 
tive was  his  memory  that  reference  to  his 
notes  was  seldom  found  to  be  essential. 

So  it  happened  that  after  he  had  been 
with  the  house  but  a  short  time  salesmen  about 
to  visit  a  territory  for  the  first  time  were  re- 
ferred to  him  for  information.  Settlers 
bound  West  also  would  stop  at  Cooley,  Far- 
well  &  Co.'s  to  talk  with  young  Field  about 
the  land  they  were  entering. 

His  knowledge  was  considered  all  the  more 
remarkable  because  of  the  territory  he  was 
describing  or  discussing  he  had  seen  but  lit- 
tle. He  had,  it  is  true,  gone  into  the  territory 
with  certain  of  the  road  salesmen,  but  these 
trips  were  infrequent,  for  together  with  his 
study  of  the  West  he  was  fast  becoming  ex- 
pert in  salesmanship  and  in  merchandising. 
And  having  proved  himself  a  highly  efficient 
salesman,  alike  in  the  retail  and  in  the  whole- 
sale, his  services  were  always  in  requisition 
at  the  store. 

Those  who  sought  him  to  learn  about  the 
West  usually  gave  him  their  custom  in  sup- 
plying their  immediate  wants.  In  this  direc- 
tion he  was  aided  by  his  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  use,  construction  and  value  of  the  mer- 
chandise he  offered  and  by  his  intuitive  under- 
standing of  what  would  suit  the  customer.  His 
shyness  and  aloofness  still  remained  with  him 
and  probably  proved  an  aid  in  the  acquisition 
of  knowledge,  for  he  spent  most  of  his  spare 
time  in  talking  to  travelers  or  in  studying 
merchandise.  He  resided  in  an  unpretentious 
rooming  house,  and  few  were  his  acquaintances 
outside  of  business  hours. 

His  brother,  Joseph,  is  credited  with  the 
remark,  "If  Marshall  had  anything  to  sell, 
he  would  sell  it  if  a  customer  came  in;  if  a 
customer  did  not  come  in,  he  was  not  above 
going  out  and  finding  one."  And  it  is  true 
that  much  of  his  success  with  Cooley,  Farwell 
&  Co.  was  due  to  this  trait. 

Field  was  abstemious.  He  did  not  asso- 
ciate with  the  boisterous  crowd  that  made  up 
a  large  part  of  Chicago's  younger  business 
community  at  that  time.     He  did  not  gamble 


or  associate  with  the  gambling  element.  Yet 
he  made  it  his  business  to  visit  the  taverns,  so 
as  to  get  in  touch  with  possible  buyers.  His 
accurate  and  seemingly  inexhaustible  fund  of 
information  as  to  the  West,  its  conditions  and 
possibilities,  readily  won  for  him  attention. 
Men  sought  him  out  for  information.  These 
interviews  often  led  to  orders. 

In  all  his  dealings  with  customers  he  was 
so  painstaking,  so  candid,  and  evinced  such 
sterling  honesty  and  integrity  that  instinc- 
tively each  of  them  said  to  himself,  "That 
young  fellow's  all  right;  I'll  come  again."  And 
come  again  he  did,  until  in  a  few  years  young 
Field  had  built  up  a  large  personal  follow- 
ing, who  came  to  him  season  after  season  with 
their  orders. 

Thus  as  time  went  on  young  Field  became 
so  important  a  factor  to  his  employers  as  to 
be  considered  almost  indispensable.  He  early 
became  known  as  the  best  salesman  in  the 
store,  and  Mr.  Farwell  is  quoted  as  saying  of 
him,  "He  was  the  successful  salesman." 


ABOUT  the  time  Field  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  Cooley,  Wadsworth  &  Co.  there 
came  to  the  concern  a  young  man  named  Levi 
Z.  Leiter.  Having  had  some  experience  in 
bookkeeping  and  in  credits,  Leiter  was  as- 
signed to  that  class  of  work.  In  his  work  as 
a  salesman  Field  came  into  close  touch  with 
the  credit  department,  and  in  a  short  time 
the  two  young  men  found  that  they  had  much 
in  common.  They  discussed  in  considerable 
detail  the  business  affairs  of  their  house. 

From  young  Leiter  Field  received  valuable 
information  in  connection  with  accounting 
and  credit  methods.  Field,  in  turn,  was  able 
to  give  his  associate  facts  as  to  conditions  in 
the  Western  country  that  were  a  help  in 
reaching  decisions  as  to  the  extension  or  with- 
holding of  credit. 

Thus  the  association  between  Field  and 
Leiter  developed.  It  would  be  inaccurate  to 
call  it  friendship ;  rather  was  it  an  association 
for  mutual  advantage,  founded  on  the  respect 
which  each  had  for  the  other's  abilities. 


Marshall  Field  Becomes  an  Expert  Salesman 


19 


Utterly  dissimilar  as  were  these  young  men 
in  theiir  tastes,  their  ideas  and  their  manner 
of  living,  yet  each  had  a  vision  of  founding  a 
big  store  in  Chicago ;  each  held  in  high  respect 
the  other's  integrity  and  business  judgment. 

Field  made  fewer  friends  than  Leiter  did. 
He  was  more  independent,  imperious  and  re- 
served. But  the  friends  he  did  make  were 
drawn  to  him  by  his  quiet  dignity,  his  calm 
constraint  and  his  princely  bearing.  These 
qualities,  indeed,  aroused  in  those  who  met 
him  both  admiration  and  respect. 

And,  as  is  not  infrequently  the  case  with 
those  who  do  not  "wear  their  heart  upon  their 
sleeve,"  running  through  his  nature  there  was 
a  warm  current  that  led  him  during  his  later 
years  to  place  hundreds  of  his  old-time  friends 


on  pensions,  caused  him  to  be  loved  by  scores 
of  children  living  in  his  neighborhood  and  had 
much  to  do  with  his  becoming  one  of  the  na- 
tion's greatest  philanthropists. 
-  Early  in  1862  a  reorganization  of  the  firm 
of  Cooley,  Farwell  &  Co.  took  place,  Mr. 
Cooley  dropping  out.  To  Field,  at  that  time 
in  his  twenty-eighth  year,  there  was  offered 
a  partnership  in  the  new  firm.  He  became  a 
heavy  stockholder.  For  a  time  the  firm  con- 
tinued without  change  of  name.  Afterwards, 
however,  it  was  known  for  a  time  as  Farwell, 
Field  &  Co. 

Marshall  Field  was  said  at  that  time  to  be 
worth  something  like  $30,000,  practically  all 
of  which  he  had  acquired  within  six  or  seven 
years. 


CHAPTER  III 
FORMATION  OF  FIRM  OF  FIELD,  LEITER  &z  CO. 


DURING  his  connection  with  Cooley,  Far- 
well  &  Co.,  Marshall  Field  had  been 
studying  the  methods  and  ways  of  do- 
ing business  employed  in  the  retail  trade  by 
Potter  Palmer.  Indeed,  throughout  his 
career,  beginning  with  his  Pittsfield  training, 
the  retail  business 
enlisted  his  chief 
interest  and  atten- 
tion. And  when  it 
became  known 
that  Palmer  had 
decided  to  retire 
from  active  par- 
ticipation in  the 
affairs  of  his  store 
— this  was  a  few 
years  subsequent 
to  Field's  pur- 
chase of  an  inter- 
est in  Cooley,  Far- 
well  &  Co.,  or,  to 
be  exact,  in  1865 
^ — Field  went  to 
him  and  made  ,  a 
proposition  for 
the  purchase  of  a 
part  interest. 

Palmer  had 
watched  Field's 
progress  and  after 
due  consideration 
an  arrangement  was  entered  into  whereby 
not  only  Field  but  Leiter  also  acquired  an 
interest  in  the  Palmer  business  and  disposed 
of  their  interest  in  Cooley,  Farwell  &  Co. 
The  new  firm  was  known  as  Field,  Palmer  & 
Leiter. 

Thus,  at  the  age  of  thirty-one,  Marshall 
Field  became  the  leading  partner  in  Chi- 
cago's largest  and  most  prominent  retail 
store,  an  establishment  that  for  years  had 
dominated  the  retail  trade  of  the  city,  had 


Chicago. 


S/G 


become  the  corner  stone  of  the  retail  cen- 
ter, and  was  commonly  spoken  of  in  the  East 
as  "the  A.  T.  Stewart  store  of  the  West." 

In  the  new  firm  Mr.  Palmer's  interests 
were  largely  looked  after  by  his  brother, 
Milton  Palmer,  who  took  an  active  part  in 

the  business.  It  is 
proof  of  Potter 
Palmer's  confi- 
dence in  the  integ- 
rity and  ability  of 
Field  and  of  Lei- 
ter that  he  thence- 
forth devoted  the 
greater  part  of  his 
time  and  energies 
to  his  other  inter- 
ests and  partici- 
pated in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  retail 
concern  oply  in  an 
advisory   capacity. 


jiatvU  &-yyi-  ff^iiffu  <n-  CAtAt/ ar»<4J  iUtU -a/- £Mt. 
liMctJ  ^Al^  OA*'   (m^   CAta/'^i'^aC  Utd-t    ^.^ttjL   1^   lAt, 


?34ji/t/u/'  X^C  mAjC  ^^^^fyi^     ^.jCj^titX'  ^rt^cJ  ^^    .^-- 

Urt.  ea^tv   UM4  yt^rt^   y^x^  A^ukji^^    i<^f%*4  fc*o    0^a^J<JU 
*^^fi*^TU>  <yy*-Cif>^    ^^^4>tt^  l^  t^ru^    un^ /O'^rrr  ci^j' 


*^f^M^ 


T'^^ 


^:i^^ 


Letter  to  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  quoting  prices;  from  W.  J. 
Flood  of  the  Chicago  branch  of  A.  T.  Stewart  &  Co. 


LOOKING  back 
i  over  the  pe- 
riod of  young 
Field's  early  boy- 
hood and  the  thir- 
teen years  which 
elapsed  from  the 
time  of  his  first 
mercantile  experi- 
ence at  Conway,  Mass.,  to  the  founding  of 
the  firm  of  Field,  Palmer  &  Leiter,  it  is 
easy  to  see  how  his  early  training  and  ex- 
perience, as  well  as  the  inherent  qualities 
of  his  remarkable  personality,  aided  him  in 
pushing  forward  from  one  point  of  vantage 
to  another.  In  the  Pittsfield  store  he  was 
thoroughly  grounded  in  the  principles  of  mer- 
chandising and  in  the  knowledge  of  merchan- 
dise. At  Cooley,  Farwell  &  Co.'s  he  learned 
the   underlying  factors   essential  to  the  up- 


20 


Formation  of  Firm  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 


21 


/  building  and  maintenance  of  a  great  wholesale 
business;  and  through  his  study  of  Potter 
Palmer's  methods  he  acquired  an  understand- 
ing of  what  even  in  these  days  of  scientific 
management  might  well  be  termed  progres- 
sive retailing. 

On  this  subject  John  G.  Shedd,  the  pres- 
ent head  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  recently 
said: 

"The  training  enjoyed  in  the  first  ten  or 
fifteen  years  of  a  man's  life  determines  the 
depth  of  character  in  that  man;  and  so  the 
first  ten  or  fifteen  years  of  the  life  of  a_  busi- 
ness determines  the  character  of  that  busi- 
ness. This  business  was  founded  on  char- 
acter and  in  the  light  of  fair  dealing  as  seen 
and  understood  by  some  of  the  best  merchants 
of  the  age;  and  to  the  early  work  of  these  men 
we  owe  our  success." 

With  the  purchase  of  the  Palmer  store,  the 
career  of  Marshall  Field  really  began.  Our 
country  was  then  in  the  final  throes  of  the 
Civil  War.  The  financial  outlook  was  uncer- 
tain. For  the  American  business  man  the  ap- 
proaching years  were  to  be  among  the  hardest 
and  most  difficult  in  our  history.  Thus,  Field 
and  Leiter,  in  assuming  their  new  financial 
and  mercantile  responsibilities,  had  mapped 
out  for  themselves  a  journey  that  was  to  lead 
them  over  many  a  rocky  road  before  they  ap- 
proached the  mountain-tops  toward  which 
their  visions  were  to  lead  them. 

The  people  of  Chicago  and  the  territory  it 
served  during  the  '50's  and  '60's  of  the  last 
century  were  mostly  of  pioneer  type.  Their 
needs  were  meager;  they  demanded  only  the 
coarsest  of  clothing  and  of  food.  Many  of 
the  necessities  of  life  were  raised  on  the  farm, 
and  most  of  the  stores  of  the  time  were  con- 
tent to  sell  the  staple  merchandise  demanded 
by  these  early  settlers. 

Potter  Palmer,  however,  as  suggested  in 
our  first  chapter,  had  a  broad  vision  of  the 
demand  that  could  be  created.  In  addition  to 
the  staples,  his  house  sought  to  carry  merchan- 
dise of  a  better  quality  and  possessing  a 
greater  style  element  than  that  of  his  com- 
petitors. 


In  the  Palmer  retail  store  too  the  mer- 
chandise excelled  in  style  and  in  quality,  for 
its  owner  strove  assiduously  to  create  a 
demand  for  a  little  better  grade  of  mer- 
chandise and  then  to  imbue  the  public  mind 
with  understanding  and  appreciation  of  the 
goods  he  was  selling. 

When  Marshall  Field  and  Levi  Z.  Leiter 
joined  the  Palmer  store  this  policy  was  con- 
tinued. Field,  in  particular,  brought  to  the 
concern  an  understanding  of  the  West;  a 
knowledge  of  its  needs  and  its  possibilities, 
and  a  sympathy  with  its  yearnings  or  desires 
that  was  unequaled  by  that  of  any  merchant 
in  Chicago. 

He  knew  that  a  new  generation  was  de- 
veloping in  the  West,  one  with  which  he  him- 
self was  in  close  touch.  Yet  so  stern  had 
been  his  early  training  and  so  strict  were 
the  rules  he  had  set  for  himself  as  to 
financing  and  credit-granting  that  he  could 
not  tolerate  the  idea  of  speculation  or 
"plunging,"  favored  though  they  were  by 
some  of  his  friends  of  that  new  generation. 

During  the  Civil  War  there  had  gathered 
in  Chicago  many  strangers  from  other  cen- 
ters, whose  trade  in  cotton  and  other  South- 
ern products  had  been  cut  off.  Most  of  these 
had  been  in  business  along  the  Mississippi 
River.  St.  Louis  had  been  their  headquar- 
ters, but  because  of  the  disturbed  conditions 
there  they  had  moved  north  to  Chicago. 

The  inflation  of  the  currency  resulting 
from  the  need  of  financing  the  war  had  cre- 
ated opportunities  for  many  speculative  ven- 
tures. The  true  Westerner  was  a  hard-work- 
ing man,  with  little  taste  or  time  for  ostenta- 
tion or  display,  and  Chicago  social  life  was  of 
a  quiet,  "homey"  kind.  The  newcomers,  with 
some  ready  cash,  glib  tongues,  and  quick- 
working  brains,  soon  succeeded  in  developing 
a  different  kind  of  society,  one  that  proved 
very  attractive  to  many  of  the  young  men  and 
to  some  of  the  young  women.  Gambling  in 
various  forms  was  carried  on  openly  and  with', 
out  restriction,  to  the  detriment  frequently  of 
strangers  in  town. 

Later  on,  learning  from  their  victims  of 


22 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


the  great  undeveloped  reasources  of  the  West, 
many  of  the  speculative  sharks  forsook  their 
gambling  outfits  in  the  hotels  and  barrooms 
and  embarked  in  more  or  less  risky  ventures 
in  the  further  West.  Thus  a  new  type  w^as 
added  to  the  adventurers  of  the  ante-bellum 
days,  and  thus 
the  risks  Chicago 
business  men 
were  called  on  to 
face  were  great- 
ly  increased. 

For  a  decade, 
indeed,  reckless 
speculation  was 
prevalent 
throughout 
the  West.  To- 
day a  firm  would 
be  on  the  crest 
of  the  wave,  to- 
morrow it  was 
engulfed.  Sel- 
dom could  the 
value  of  property 
be  accurately 
gaged.  Hence, 
the  element  of 
character,  which 
Field  had  held 
right  along  must 
be  the  essential 
backing  of  evei'y 
credit  transac- 
tion, acquired 
new  and  addi- 
tional impor- 
tance. 

Levi  Z.  Lei- 
ter,  having  been 
thoroughly 


A  Field,  Letter  &  Co.  advertisement  of  1866-67. 
last   paragraph. 


grounded  in  the  handling  of  credits,  had 
become  the  credit  man  of  the  new  firm.  Less 
conservative  than  Field  and  willing  to  take 
greater  risks  in  business  transactions,  his 
policies  were  often  at  variance  with  those  of 
Field,  and  frequently  the  restraining  hand  of 
the  latter  had  to  be  stretched  out. 


The  new  firm  of  Field,  Palmer  &  Leiter 
was  capitalized  at  $600,000.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  chaotic  conditions  which  had 
been  created  by  the  war  and  were  by  no 
means  immediately  dispelled  by  peace,  this 
sum  would  have  been  ample  to  carry  the  firm 

along  in  good 
shape.  But  the 
firm's  second 
three  months 
were  months  of 
trial.  Indeed,  ru- 
mors were  cur- 
rent that  the  firm 
was  in  a  bad  way 
financially. 

Gradual- 
ly,  however,  busi- 
ness conditions 
improved.  Dur- 
ing the  latter 
half  of  the 
twelfth  month 
the  firm  pros- 
pered, and  the 
year  1866 
brought  a  still 
greater  volume 
of  business.  Long 
delayed  improve- 
ments and  settle- 
ments in  the 
West  were  taken 
up  with  vigor, 
and  there  was  an 
increasing  de- 
mand for  mer- 
chandise. It  has 
been  declared 
that  practically 
any  firm  in  Chi- 
cago which  at  that  time  had  a  steady  supply 
of  merchandise  could  find  an  almost  unlim- 
ited market. 

■^  Such  prosperity  did  Field,  Palmer  &  Lei- 
ter enjoy  that  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year 
Field  and  Leiter  entered  into  negotiations 
with  Potter  Palmer  for  the  purchase  of  the 


Note  the 


Formation  of  Firm  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 


23 


latter's  entire  interest.  A  deal  was  finally 
consummated  whereby  Field  and  Leiter  came 
into  control  of  the  business.  It  is  note- 
worthy that  while  some  borrowing  had  to 
be  done  much  of  the  money  needed  for  the 
transaction  was  derived  from  the  profits  of 
the  business. 

Thus,  early  in  1867  the  firm  became  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.,  with  Marshall  Field  and  Levi  Z. 
Leiter  owning  about  twp-thirds  of  the  en- 
tire capital  stock. 

FIELD  and  Leiter  commenced  a  system- 
atic effort  to  stimulate  and  guide  the 
taste  of  their  public.  In  fact,  it  was  said  in 
those  days  that  the  aim  of  Field,  Palmer  & 
Leiter  and  later  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  was  not 
\  only  to  sell  merchandise,  but  to  educate  the 
people  of  Chicago  and  of  the  West  and 
Northwest  to  an  understanding  and  knowl- 
edge of  merchandise  that  would  enable  them 
Jto  buy  intelligently. 

Repeatedly  the  firm,  in  its  newspaper  ad- 
vertisements,  emphasized   the   fact   that   the 
j    store  was  a  strictly  one-price  institution,  that 

tits  merchandise  was  sold  on  merit,  that  all 
goods  could  be  exchanged  if  not  found  satis- 
factory. 
A  goodly  proportion  of  the  concern's  busi- 
ness, especially  on  quality  merchandise,  was 
of  a  "charge"  nature.  But  never  did  the  firm 
sacrifice  promptness  in  payment  to  its  desire 
for  sales  volume.  Long  credits  were  the  rule 
in  retail  stores  of  those  days.  In  many  cases 
two,  three,  six  or  even  twelve  months  were 
permitted  to  elapse  before  demanding  pay- 
ment. Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  however,  regarded 
charge  or  credit  sales  in  the  same  light  as 
banking  transactions.  The  policy  of  "short 
credit"  was  early  adopted,  and  was  so  strictly 
adhered  to  that  no  customer,  however 
wealthy  or  reliable,  could  obtain  in  the  Field- 
Leiter  store  better  terms  than  thirty  days. 

It  was  the  policy  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.'s 
credit  department,  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Leiter,  to  scrutinize  with  the  utmost  care  the 
responsibility  of  each  applicant  for  credit  and 
after  credit  had  been  granted  to  see  that  each 


and  every  charge  customer  adhered  strictly  to 
the  terms.  Knowing,  therefore,  to  a  reason- 
able certainty  how  much  money  would  be  com- 
ing in  around  the  first  of  the  month,  the  con- 
cern was  able  to  buy  on  what  was  practically 
a  cash  basis  and  at  exceptionally  close  prices. 
This  enabled  the  firm  to  carry  more  up-to-date 
merchandise  than  could  its  competitors  whose 
methods  were  lax,  as  well  as  to  do  business  on 
a  relatively  smaller  capital. 

The  independent,  originating  attitude  of 
the  firm  was  further  shown  in  the  fact  that 
immediately  after  its  formation  it  adopted  the 
policy  of  not  advertising  in  the  Sunday  papers. 
The  following  extract  from  a  letter  recently 
written  by  Mr.  Shedd  shows  how  closely  this 
policy  is  being  adhered  to  to-day. 

"Marshall  Field  &  Co.  never  have  adver- 
tised in  Sunday  newspapers.  They  have  fol- 
lowed the  rule  that  six  days  for  labor  and  the 
seventh  for  rest  was  best  for  employer  and 
employee.  We  regard  Sunday  advertising  as 
an  unnecessary  infraction  of  this  very  whole- 
some, many-century  old  religious  dictum,  and 
are  glad  to  follow  it. 

"We  are  said  to  have  the  most  wonderful 
display  windows  in  the  world,  covering  four 
sides  of  a  block.    The  curtains  of  these  win-  ^ 
dows  are  lowered  from  Saturday  night  until    i 
Monday  morning,  though  we  have  been  urged    : 
by  many  people  to  allow  this  display  to  go  for- 
ward on  Sunday. 

"These  decisions  were  made  and  have  been 
carried  out  by  the  founders  and  owners  of  this 
institution,  because  they  have  always  tried  to 
govern  their  actions  by  their  interpretation  of 
the  effect  upon  the  public  morale.  As  their  ex- 
ample is  followed  by  many  merchants,  they 
have  striven  to  mold  their  policies  along  the 
highest  ethical  lines. 

"Marshall  Field  &  Co.  believe  that  the  fact 
that  they  do  not  commercialize  Sunday  makes 
for  better  citizenship." 

Rates  for  advertising  in  Monday's  papers 
were  somewhat  lower  than  those  ruling  for 
Sunday's.  Moreover,  other  stores  were  not 
using  the  Monday  paper  at  all;  consequently, 
Field,   Leiter   &    Co.'s    Monday   publicity  at- 


24 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


tracted  unusual  attention.  Then,  too,  the 
reputation  which  the  firm  had  won  for  carry- 
ing the  right  kinds  of  merchandise  at  a  fair 
price — goods  possessing  great  style  value  as 
well  as  reliable  in  quality — caused  their  Mon- 
day morning  advertisements  to  be  read  widely 
and  carefully. 

Another  important  principle  of  the  store's 
operating  methods  initiated  in  the  early  days 
and,  like  the  non-Sunday  advertising  rule, 
continued  to  the  present  time,  was  the  policy 
of  working  with  the  employees  and  helping 
them  to  advance. 

The  policy  of  studying  each  man  or  woman, 
each  girl  or  boy,  working  for  the  concern,  and 
then  putting  each  in  the  position  to  which  he 
or  she  was  best  fitted,  was  for  several  years 
carried  on  under  Mr.  Field's  personal  super- 
vision. He  delegated  to  others  the  study  of 
his  employees  only  when  he  found  that  their 
number  had  become  so  large  that  it  was  im- 
possible for  him  to  do  all  of  them  justice. 

Another  cardinal  rule  of  the  Field-Leiter 
store  was:  not  to  retain  on  its  payroll  an  em- 
ployee who  gambled  or  used  intoxicants  to  ex- 
cess or  whose  conduct  outside  the  store  was  in 
any  way  below  the  Field  standard. 

It  became  at  that  time  and  has  since  con- 


tinued to  be  a  law  of  the  Field  organization 
that  the  man  and  the  opportunity  make  the 
income ;  that  certain  lines  of  work  are  not  only 
more  productive  than  others  but  require 
greater  aptitude  and  deeper  insight,  and  that 
such  positions  naturally  call  for  higher  re- 
ward than  those  of  a  routine  character. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  in  the  late  70's  and 
early  80's,  although  the  total  personnel  of 
Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  approximated  1000  and 
the  locations  of  the  two  branches  of  the 
business  were  separated  by  a  considerable 
distance,  Marshall  Field  always  found  time 
before  leaving  the  city  for  a  prolonged  ab- 
sence to  go  through  each  establishment,  shake 
hands  with  each  employee  and  leave  with  him 
a  kind  word  of  interest  and  farewell.  Refer- 
ence has  been  made  to  Mr.  Field's  knowledge 
of  human  nature  and  his  retentive  memory, 
and  in  his  dealings  with  his  employees  these 
served  him  in  good  stead. 

It  is  said  of  him  that  once  having  shaken 
a  man's  hand  and  talked  with  him  he  could 
invariably  recall  the  man  to  mind.  In  going 
through  a  department  he  was  wont  to  recog- 
nize instantly  a  strange  face  and  would  be 
quick  to  make  inquiry  as  to  the  identity  of  the 
stranger. 


CHAPTER  IV 
RETAIL  REMOVED  TO  STATE 'AND  WASHINGTON 


AS  was  recently  stated  in  a  public  address 
by  a  prominent  member  of  the  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  organization,  "the  ef- 
ficient wholesale  store  has  made  it  possible  for 


the  goods  which  the  retailer  buys.  The  large 
corps  of  salesmen  employed  by  the  wholesaler 
has  enabled  the  retailer  to  stock  closely  in  ac- 
cord with  his  selling  outlet  and  more  carefully 


Field.  Leiter  &  Co. 


CHICAGO.  Sept.  With,  2S74. 


Iif-:jix'  Sfh: 


The  t'lif lowing  Rp.soiuiion  adnpicxl  by  our  Bankers, 

••  T!t.  I  'httihif-  i.'tfi/fipff  It'ivtr  AfJi'-fiattf-n  -if  B'tnir"  ifuii  Jinnk:n  rt.^>hv  tint,  mdU  further  otYtwi. 
.lM'^l.«  rwts  ■>/  'h--  dttl'irhrA  ei'iniiUw  of  ofairt  in  Xfc  V-'-k  «»■/  flhrr  r>V(V»,  nn,/  (Ac  •f/jH-uUy  iff  ccH- 
rcriiiht  '"'/•( 'I-"*  i«/p  •■v^ri'ncy,  if>'  mrailxm  l-r  f-'-f'}nmrn-i'--{  tui-l  ■iiit/"irU''J  '<'  ampt-nJ  rurrmnj  patpnaUt 
fit  tii'i  /■('■;/.,  ■i.i—i'hln  •it.vir  ftf^.n  iJu'fi,  '■i'/.i-r  fri-m  {■(■"'ttf-f  .'i-ntk"  or  ortr  lluir  .■■,iiul'-rt," 

ut  substa nJ i all y  the,  sarnc  uefion  as  wa~\-  t<ilc^Ji  by  Uin  bankers  in  J^''ew  Yo7'k  and 
j'n  other  rifitx,  'lithou-Jh  done  in  a.  more  ytuHic  runnncr.  Fearing  that  if  may 
caunc  niisa/}fitehensioK.  u:v  d-eslre  io  sta/e  thai  dtaft.s drawn,  hy  cvu ntry hankers 
lia^vinQ  baUtniuis  with  ttny  n}'  our  Solncnt  Vihj  lianlctt  will  he  duff/  honored 
through  th-p.  aorni-t/  of  the  Ch'firtn^*  /ff'Tt.^r,  mtd.  mini,  titerefnre.  he.  Rent  us  a.* 
iiKUid  for  ffie  prfvetd. 

The  Tiit^ronnfdi-  ttUrrestK  of  fh-i'  eounfri/  have  not,  and  we  do  n-of  think 
ipifJ.  tie  iitnteriitUy  vffetited  Ittj  fhf  /tar/it^,  find  fi/t si fu:s--«  ninr/  he  co)tducted  with 
c.orrfidence  that  currnney  resttm/dion  wilf  .toon  joUow. 

B-V  -«<•«•  no  eanm  for  ti  general'  n/nrni,  and  tid vise  merchants  and  others 

to  k^e.p  on  in  the  even-  lenor  of  fhcir  vuuj. 

Thf  pnrti^if  failure  of  rrops  in  Enntpe,  cren.tin^  such  a  lar^e  ilemand 
for  our  brfadstuffs  and  provisions,  warra-nts  its  in  asmtrirts'  you-  of  our  belief 
that  no  aetion  of  hankers  c.rin  lon.^  retard  flieir  movements,  and  as  iJie 
business  of  the  West  is  oZnwst  whnlhi  dept'n-d.ont  on  the  money  realized  for 
ii$  pi'odueJs.  it  cannot  suffer  to  any  tfretiJ  extent. 

Importations  fiaoe  been  very  fi:^ht  this  season,  and-  stocks  of  American 
Merchandise  Jiave  at  no  time  since  the  close  of  th-e  war  been  sold  up  so  dose. 

We  do  not  at  present  anticipate  any  immediate  change  in  valtces  of 
Merchandise,  and  are. 


Very  truly  yours. 


FIELD,  LEITER  &  CO. 


Marshall  Field  and  his  partners  kept  their  heads  and  their  optimism  in 
spite  of  the  panic  conditions  in  1873 


retail  merchants  to  conduct  their  stores  on 
the  basis  of  highest  efficiency.  The  whole- 
saler makes  possible  a  more  economical  re- 
tail distribution,  by  means  of  lower  operating 
cost  and  lower  selling  expense  charged  against 


supervise  the  bettering  of  his  own  business. 

"It  would  be  absurd  expense  for  most 
merchants  to  shop  in  a  thousand  markets, 
traveling  to  every  continent  in  the  world  in 
the  effort  to  supply  their  customers'  desires. 


25 


26 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


The  wholesale  store  does  this  shopping.  Its 
branch  representatives  are  in  all  trade  cen- 
ters, and  it  profits  by  large  scale  buying.  A 
retail  merchant  would  have  a  difficult  time  if 
he  had  continually  to  repeat  his  shopping  tours 
to  the  various  manufacturers  when  certain 
lines  of  merchandise  run  low.  The  wholesale 
store  carries  at  all  times  open  lines  of  mer- 
chandise on  which  he  may  draw,  and  this 
means  the  kind  of  goods  regularly  in  demand, 
which  is  quite  different  from  that  merchan- 
dise whose  style  or  character  soon  goes  out 
of  date. 

"Through  the  service  of  the  wholesale  the 
retail  merchant  needs  only  representative 
quantities  of  any  given  item,  since  he  may  re- 
order as  his  needs  arise,  by  telephone,  mail  or 
telegraph,  thereby  eliminating  one  of  the 
greatest  expenses  of  retailing — that  of  heavy 
stocks  and  the  risk  of  being  left  at  the  end  of 
a  season  with  quantities  of  unsaleable  mer- 
chandise." 

Even  in  the  early  days  these  facts  were 
recognized  by  Marshall  Field  and  his  asso- 
ciates. They  saw  that  the  part  played  by  the 
wholesale  branch  of  their  institution  was  not 
only  to  enable  retailers  throughout  the  West 
to  have  the  advantages  it  provided,  but  also 
to  be  a  powerful  factor  in  building  up  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  retail  business.  This  be- 
cause the  retail  could  draw  upon  the  whole- 
sale for  its  supplies  of  merchandise  and  thus 
be  in  a  position  to  supply  its  needs  with 
promptitude  and  with  the  right  kind  of  mer- 
chandise. 

Rapid  turnover  was  also  rendered  pos- 
sible for  the  retail  by  the  buying  facilities 
which  the  wholesale  provided.  And  inasmuch 
as  turnover  is  an  important  factor  in  conduct- 
ing a  business  on  a  profitable  basis  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.'s  retail  store  was  able  to  offer  re- 
liable, attractive  merchandise  at  an  excep- 
tionally moderate  figure. 

The  same  service  that  was  given  to  the 
retail  store  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  was  also 
furnished  by  the  wholesale  to  other  merchants 
in  the  Central  West,  enabling  them  to  give  a 
degree   of  service  to  their  customers  which 


otherwise  would  have  been  out  of  their  reach. 
To  the  heads  of  many  departments  of  the 
wholesale  and  retail  then,  as  now,  fell  much 
of  the  responsibility  for  the  development  of 
the  company's  service.  It  was  largely  their 
task  to  develop  a  close  co-operation  between 
the  wholesale  and  retail  and  to  plan  their 
methods  of  distribution  to  be  of  most  assist- 
ance to  the  retail  merchant  in  the  growth  of 
his  business.  This  required  not  only  keen 
students  of  merchandise,  but  men  of  fine  and 
accurate  judgment.  As  the  organization  grew, 
one  of  the  most  important  tasks  of  Marshall 
Field  was  in  the  selection  and  training  of  these 
men. 

The  ability  that  Marshall  Field  possessed 
for  sizing  up  men  was  an  important  factor  in 
enabling  him  to  find  among  his  employees  men 
fitted  to  become  his  partners. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  these  was  Henry  J. 
Willing.  As  a  young  man,  who  had  some  ex- 
perience in  the  selling  and  handling  of  mer- 
chandise in  Chicago,  Mr.  Willing  entered  the 
wholesale  department  shortly  after  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Field,  Palmer  &  Leiter  firm,  and 
soon  became  a  prominent  factor  in  determin- 
ing the  merchandising  policies  of  the  whole- 
sale branch.  In  time,  having  saved  a  small 
sum,  he  invested  it  in  the  concern,  and  in  1867 
received  a  small  partnership  interest. 

With  the  lapse  of  time  his  partnership  in- 
terest increased  and  with  it  his  influence  on 
the  business,  so  that  in  the  early  '70's  Mr. 
Willing  had  under  his  charge  the  merchandis- 
ing of  several  of  the  principal  wholesale  de- 
partments. 

To  the  good  work  of  Lorenzo  G.  Woodhouse 
is  attributed  the  development  of  many  of  the 
broad  merchandising  policies  which  made 
Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  so  dominant  a  factor  in 
the  wholesale  and  retail  trade  of  the  West. 

As  the  business  grew  and  its  selling  terri- 
tory expanded  the  further  development  of  its 
credit  department  became  essential.  One  of 
the  first  to  achieve  prominence  in  the  credit 
department,  under  Mr.  Leiter,  was  Harlow  N. 
Higinbotham.  He  entered  that  department  in 
the  early  days  of  the  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  busi- 


Retail  Removed  to  State  and  Washington 


27 


ness,  and,  being  quick  to  learn,  soon  became 
Mr.  Leiter's  chief  assistant.  He  was  admitted 
to  partnership  in  1879  and  placed  in  charge  of 
the  credits,  Mr.  Leiter  devoting  the  greater 
part  of  his  energies  to  the  broader  financial 
interests  of  the  firm. 

In  the  course  of  time  Mr.  Higinbotham 
became  known  throughout  the  greater  North- 
west as  a  credit  expert,  possessed  of  unerring 
judgment  in  such 
matters.  Adhering 
closely  to  the  credit 
policies  and  the  ideas 
established  by  Mar- 
shall Field — based, 
as  said,  on  absolute 
honesty  and  integrity 
in  all  dealings, 
coupled  with  a  de- 
mand for  similar 
treatment  from  the 
credit  customers — Mr. 
Higinbotham  enabled 
his  concern  to  set 
unusually  high  its 
standard  for  credit 
granting. 

Mr.  Higinbotham 
retired  on  Dec.  31, 
1900. 

In  carrying  on  its 
merchandise  transac- 
tions, ever  increasing 
in  amount  and  im- 
portance. Field,  Lei- 
ter &  Co.  found  nec- 
essary the  services 
of  men  capable  of  properly  interpreting  and 
utilizing  reports,  statistical  and  otherwise. 
So  broad  were  the  operations  of  the  con- 
cern that  ignorance  as  to  a  crop  famine  in 
some  remote  section  of  the  country  might 
entail  heavy  losses.  Handling  such  reports, 
departmental  figures,  and  other  data  obtained 
by  the  firm  was  a  young  man  named  Thomas 
Templeton.  He  had  what  is  known  as  "a  head 
for  figures."  Indeed,  Mr.  Templeton  has  often 
been  described  by  men  who  knew  him  well  as 


Henry  J. 
A  Field  merchandising 


a  "master  mathematician."    In  later  years  Mr. 
Field  is  quoted  as  saying: 

"Most  of  the  figures,  reports,  mathematical 
tables,  etc.,  upon  which  we  based  Field  poli- 
cies came  about  as  a  result  of  Mr.  Templeton's 
clear  analyses  of  existing  conditions  and  his 
ability  to  reduce  abstruse  statistical  reports 
to  an  understandable  basis,  and,  conversely, 
because  of  his  ability  to  express  the  showings 
of  our  departments 
and  the  results  of  our 
internal  policies  in 
mathematical 
formulae." 

As  was  the  case 
with  others  of  the 
Field  organization 
who  showed  excep- 
tional ability  along 
certain  lines,  Mr. 
Templeton  was  re- 
warded with  a  part- 
nership, and  when  he 
retired  from  the  firm 
was  rated  as  a  man 
of  wealth. 

This  policy  of 
taking  in  as  partners 
men  of  industry  and 
ability  brought  ex- 
cellent results.  In 
connection  with  the 
careful  selection  for 
partnership  of  men 
who  fitted  into  some 
particular  niche  in 
the  business  edifice, 
together  with  the  placing  on  them  of  entire 
responsibility  for  that  phase  of  its  operation, 
it  was  undoubtedly  a  prominent  factor  in  the 
concern's  progress. 

Although  on  the  organization  of  the  new 
firm  Marshall  Field  largely  devoted  his  time 
to  the  wholesale  department,  his  heart  was 
close  to  the  retail  part  of  the  enterprise.  His 
training  at  Pittsfield,  as  has  already  been 
made  clear,  had  been  in  retail  work,  and 
throughout  his  career  the  retail  side  of  the 


Willing 

man  of  the  early  '70'* 


28 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


business  enlisted  his   interest   and   attention,  known  the  world  over  as  the  "Cathedral  of  All 

Of  the  differences  of  opinion  he  later  had  with  the  Stores." 

his  partner,  Levi  Z.  Leiter,  many  grew  out  of 

Leiter's  desire  to  abandon  the  retail  business  fTl  HE  large  outlets  created  by  the  whole- 

and  devote  the  entire  efforts  of  the  firm  to  J-       sale  and  retail  together  enabled  Field, 

wholesaling.  Leiter    &    Co.    to    buy    in    large    quantities. 


^\.., 


^-  ^-<^.         "'■.  V-*.  .f  r  . 


-r—;/ 

:/ 


'  *^-»  ..        *1^^^- 


'■*     ■  •  ^ 


C        /-x. 


y       / 


y..  ^r 


c.  a 


r/^^     .  /^.'^^. ..^. 


^^ 


// 


.«xi#^JL-  ^^ 


e^' ,*>-  i^sir-K'C-^-^ 


^.y^: 


^^Ap/ct^^       ,-<*        i^  t-«i^ 


\N 


*»/#-«j^.        jt*.'-/^*«..-/C 


V- 


-e^ 


■f       -'^K^K-X        •O^'^ 


y    .  aa^'L^t^-..^^ 


C-- 


f^??C^' 


^-7f 


Letter  of  H.  B.  Claflin  &  Co.,  induced  by  the  financial  stringency  of  1873 


Just  about  the  period  now  under  considera-  Even  as  early  as  the  late  '60's  and  early  '70's 

tion  Mr.  Leiter  endeavored  to  persuade  Mr.  the  firm  on  several  occasions  purchased  direct 

Field  to  give  up  the  retail  store  and  turn  the  the    entire    output    of    large    manufacturing 

concern  into  a  strictly  wholesale  house.    Then,  plants.     This  ability  to  buy  in  large  quanti- 

however,  as  subsequently,  Marshall  Field  ad-  ties  gave  the  firm  still  another  advantage  over 

hered  firmly   to  his   purpose  —  that   purpose  its  competitors, 
which  culminated  in  the  upbuilding  of  what  is  In  addition  to  relying  on  the  house  as  a 


Retail  Removed  to  State  and  Washington 


29 


source  for  merchandise  in  many  cases  retail 
merchants  sought  the  advice  of  the  members 
of  the  firm  in  connection  with  investments. 
In  each  instance  excellent  counsel  was  freely 
accorded.  The  wholesale  house  was  also  in- 
strumental in  spreading  among  its  customers 
the  standards  of  business  practice  to  which 
it  so  closely  adhered,  and  thus  a  sense  of  the 
merchant's  responsibility  to  his  customers 
and  his  public  generally  was  carried  into 
every  community  in  the  Central  West. 

The  period  was  one  in  which  an  influence 
of  this  character  was  especially  needed.  It 
was  an  era  of  wild  speculation,  as  already 
stated,  and  even  banks  were  in  many  in- 
stances far  from  trustworthy.  The  value  of 
the  paper  currency  as  expressed  in  gold  fluc- 
tuated from  day  to  day.  In  addition,  mer- 
chants had  to  keep  a  sharp  eye  on  the  bank- 
notes presented  in  payment.  "Wildcat"  bank- 
notes, worthless  in  greater  or  less  degree, 
were  so  common  that  lists  of  this  kind  of  cur- 
rency were  regularly  published. 

It  was,  moreover,  a  period  of  falling 
prices.  Andreas,  in  his  "History  of  Chicago," 
in  regard  to  the  period  in  question,  says : 

From  1865  until  the  date  of  resumption  of 
specie  payments  the  purchasing  power  of  green- 
backs and  National  banknotes  continued  to  de- 
preciate, and,  as  a  result,  the  volume  of  business 
as  shown  by  the  amount  of  sales  reported  for 
several  years  following  1865  did  not  increase  in 
as  marked  a  ratio  as  during  the  war.  To  illus- 
trate: The  volume  of  trade  in  1867  exceeded  that 
of  1868  by  from  5  to  7  per  cent,  yet  during  the 
same  year  prices  on  all  lines  of  dry  goods,  and 
particularly  on  domestic  goods,  declined  from  7 
to  8  per  cent.  It  may  be  seen  that  with  such  a 
fall  in  prices  it  was  necessary  to  increase  the 
amount  of  sales,  that  the  quantity  of  goods  sold 
should  be  largely  in  excess  of  that  in  the  year 
preceding. 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  in  this  connection,  that 
the  loss  resulting  from  the  depreciation  in  prices, 
fell  most  heavily  upon  the  retailers,  many  of 
whom  found  themselves  unable  to  replace  their 
stocks  with  sufficient  rapidity  to  pay  the  expense 
of  handling  any  addition  to  the  loss  resulting 
from  shrinkage  in  quoted  values. 

Naturally, '  a  wholesale  concern  which 
largely  acted  as  its  own  banker  and  which 
took  care  to  be  always  posted  on  values  of  cur- 


rency and  allied  matters  was  in  a  position  to 
render  constantly  valuable  service  to  the  mer- 
chants in  the  small  country  centers  which 
were  the  rule  in  the  West  in  those  days. 

In  various  other  ways,  too,  some  of  them 
seemingly  of  minor  importance.  Field,  Leiter 
&  Co.  stood  ready  to  aid  their  customers.  One 
such  example  is  presented  in  the  case  of  a 
merchant  who  had  a  brother  located  "some- 
where in  Europe."  Correspondence  between 
the  brothers  had  languished  and  finally  ceased 
and  the  one  in  America,  in  his  desire  to  lo- 
cate his  relative,  appealed  to  the  Field  organi- 
zation. The  result  was  that  through  the 
firm's  foreign  connections  the  brothers  were 
finally  brought  into  touch  with  each  other. 

MEANWHILE,  the  firm  was  profiting 
by  the  rapid  development  of  the  terri- 
tory it  served  as  well  as  by  its  own  growing 
and  spreading  reputation.  It  is  declared  that 
one  year  during  the  early  '70's  saw  the  begin- 
nings of  no  less  than  five  hundred  new  towns 
or  villages  in  what  we  now  know  as  the  Mid- 
dle West.  Each  of  these  meant  the  starting 
of  a  new  store,  a  potential  customer  of  the 
Field-Leiter  organization,  and  its  salesmen, 
ever  eager  for  business,  were  quick  to  be  on 
the  ground  in  order  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
new  opportunities. 

But  before  this  desirable  condition  was 
reached  the  firm,  as  already  suggested, 
was  called  on,  along  with  other  American 
houses,  to  surmount — or  succumb  to,  as  many 
did — extraordinary  difliculties.  For  in  1873 
there  came  a  panic,  largely  as  a  result  of  the 
fever  of  speculation  to  which  reference  has 
been  made,  largely,  too,  because  of  the  de- 
m.oralization  in  certain  sections  of  the  coun- 
try which  was  a  natural  sequence  of  the  Civil 
War. 

Cities,  counties  and  even  States  re- 
pudiated their  public  debts;  thousands  of 
business  men  and  firms  became  bankrupt.  It 
is  reported  that  on  one  day  in  New  York  five 
prominent  merchants  committed  suicide.  In 
Chicago  many  firms  were  tottering.  In  short, 
the  financial  fabric  of  the  country  seemed  on 


30 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


the  point  of  breaking  down,  and  in  Chicago,  as 
in  other  mercantile  centers,  the  situation  be- 
came precarious  in  the  extreme. 

So  great  was  the  prominence  which  even 
at  that  time  the  iirm  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 
had  gained  in  its  community  and  everywhere 
in  the  West  that  in  the  frenzy  of  their  per- 
plexities merchants  asked  each  other  with 
bated  breath,  "What  will  Field's  do?" 

The  answer  was  ready  even  before  the 
question  began  to  be  asked. 

No  sooner  had  the  little  cloud,  "no  bigger 
than  a  man's  hand,"  yet  portentous  of  wide- 
spread disaster,  made  its  appearance  on  the 
financial  horizon  than  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  be- 
gan to  shorten  sail.  The  granting  of  credit 
was  restricted,  collections  were  gotten  in 
wherever  possible,  and  the  purchase  of  mer- 
chandise was  confined  to  provision  for  im- 
mediate needs.  At  the  most  acute  period, 
when  the  credit  of  the  country's  banking  in- 
stitutions was  at  least  uncertain,  Field,  Lei- 
ter &  Co.,  in  order  to  help  their  custom- 
ers and  avoid  delays  occasioned  by  the  cur- 
rent refusals  to  cash  drafts,  issued  a  circular 
to  their  customers  advising  them  to  remit 
gold  and  currency  by  express. 

Again  during  this  crisis  Marshall  Field's 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  Western  territory, 
and  its  resources,  came  into  effective  play.  Not 
only  were  applicants  for  credit  as  well  as  ac- 
counts already  standing  carefully  scrutinized 
by  Mr.  Leiter  and  Mr.  Higinbotham ;  they  had 
also  to  pass  the  searching  study  of  Mr.  Field. 
In  this  work  the  banking  organizations  at  vari- 
ous points  which  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  had  as- 
sociated with  them  as  correspondents  ren- 
dered valuable  aid  in  the  form  of  information. 

Thus,  Marshall  Field's  insistence  on  the 
thorough  scrutiny  and  consideration  of  each 
application  for  credit  and  his  constant  study 
of  the  conditions  under  which  the  customers 
of  the  wholesale  branch  were  doing  business 
were  tremendously  effective  in  helping  his 
concern  to  ride  out  the  storm.  Not  only  this, 
but  they  impressed  themselves  so  deeply  on 
other  merchants  that  to  Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 
is  given  credit  in  large  degree  for  the  sta- 


bility acquired  by  other  concerns  in  the  West 
and  Northwest. 

Speaking  on  this  subject  recently.  Presi- 
dent John  G.  Shedd,  said: 

"If  this  country  has  anything  for  which  to 
thank  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  it  is  that  its  pred- 
ecessors. Field,  Leiter  &  Co. — composed  of 
such  sterling  characters  as  Marshall  Field, 
Levi  Z.  Leiter,  Henry  J.  Willing,  Lorenzo  G. 
Woodhouse,  Joseph  N.  Field  and  Harlow  N. 
Higinbotham — impressed  on  Chicago,  the 
West  and  the  great  North  and  Southwest  the 
basic  idea  of  character  as  an  asset  and  as  an 
important  factor  in  determining  a  merchant's 
right  to  credit. 

"Adherence  to  the  principle  enunciated  by 
Marshall  Field  and  consistently  adhered  to  by 
Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  and  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
has  carried  the  great  Western  country 
through  times  of  stress  and  of  panic,  and  has 
built  in  that  country  a  strong  credit  founda- 
tion. Furthermore,  this  idea  has  given  to  the 
West  an  assurance  of  ability  to  handle  success- 
fully its  financial  and  industrial  problems 
which  could  not  otherwise  have  been  at- 
tained." 

THE  close  of  the  panic  period  found  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.  relatively  stronger  finan- 
cially, with  a  higher  commercial  rating,  and 
better  situated  for  the  expansion  of  their 
business  than  they  were  prior  to  the  arrival 
of  the  conditions  which  entailed  the  ship- 
wreck of  so  many  less  skillfully  managed  con- 
cerns. 

The  great  majority  of  the  merchants 
whom  the  house  had  carried  on  its  books  also 
weathered  the  tempest.  Many  of  these  freely 
admitted  that  the  continuance  of  their  exist- 
ence was  due  to  the  aid  and  counsel  of  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.  And,  naturally,  such  merchants 
enrolled  themselves  among  the  firm's  staunch- 
est  customers  and  supporters. 

It  is  a  further  noteworthy  evidence  of  ihe 
firm's  energy,  courage  and  progressiveriess 
that  even  during  the  dark  days  of  the  panic 
they  took  the   momentous  step  of  removing 


Retail  Removed  to  State  and  Washington 


31 


the  retail  branch  of  business  from  the  loca- 
tion in  which  it  had  been  established  and  had 
grown  up. 

The  removal  exerted  a  far-reaching  influ- 
ence on  the  development  of  Chicago,  as  well  as 
on  the  fortunes  of  the  growing  Field,  Leiter 
&  Co.  firm. 

For  the  location  selected — at  the  corner  of 
State  and  Washington  Streets — became,  and 
with  the  exception  of  a  brief  interval,  has 
ever  since  continued  to  be,  the  keystone  of 
Chicago's  marvelous  retail  district,  a  district 
which  in  the  size  and  magnificence  of  its 
stores  and  the  amount  of  business  transacted 
is  without  parallel  in  the  wide  world. 

It  is  too  well  known  and  too  universally  rec- 
ognized to  require  emphasis  that  the  growth 


and  expansion  of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  re- 
tail store  and  its  continued  presence  in  the 
same  locality  have  been  among  the  great,  out- 
standing causes  of  the  upbuilding  and  main- 
tenance of  State  Street  as  the  principal  re- 
tail shopping  center  of  the  Western  metrop- 
olis. 

The  building  at  the  corner  of  State  and 
Washington  to  which  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  re- 
moved had  been  erected  for  their  occupancy 
and  embodied  all  that  was  best  in  store  con- 
struction and  equipment  at  that  time.  It  is 
indicative  of  the  standing  and  prominence  the 
concern  had  won,  even  at  that  time,  that  its 
removal  was  speedily  followed  by  a  migration 
to  State  Street  on  the  part  of  many  of  its  for- 
mer neighbors. 


CHAPTER  V 
QUICK  WORK  FOLLOWS  THE  GREAT  FIRE  OF  1871 


THE  business  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  had 
become  established,  the  firm  had  weath- 
ered the  financial  panic  and  had  come 
out  of  the  trial  with  new  strength  and  en- 


On  the  morning  of  October  9th,  in  the  year 
named,  the  people  of  the  Western  metropolis 
gazed  on  a  business  district  formerly  the 
pride  of  the  West,  but  now  a  black  and  smok- 


Thc  first  building  at  State  and   Washington  Streets  occupied  by  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  and  destroyed 
in  the  great  fire  which  devastated  a  large  part  of  Chicago  in  1871. 


hanced  reputation.  Its  retail  business  had 
removed  to  a  magnificent  structure,  as  mag- 
nificence was  judged  in  those  days,  and  every 
prospect  seemed  favorable  and  encouraging. 
Within  a  moment,  however,  all  was  changed. 
The  great  Chicago  fire  of  1871  broke  out  and, 
like  other  concerns  in  the  stricken  city.  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.  were  the  victims  of  its  handi- 
work. 


ing  waste.  State  Street  also,  the  new  retail 
section,  was  destroyed.  Millions  of  dollars' 
worth  of  merchandise  had  gone  up  in  flames 
with  the  structures  in  which  it  had  been 
stored.  And  the  Field-Leiter  business  house 
seemed  to  be  no  more. 

But  almost  before  the  conflagration  had 
been  checked,  and  while  bricks  and  other 
debris  were  still  too  hot  to  touch,  the  firm  had 


32 


Quick  Work  Follows  the  Great  Fire  of  1871 


33 


taken  action  looking  to  the  speedy  resumption 
of  business.  Car  barns  belonging  to  the 
South  Side  Street  Railway  Co.  at  State  and 
Twentieth  Streets,  were  purchased  and  hastily 
fitted  up  for  store  purposes.  All  of  the  com- 
pany's cars  were  chartered  and  put  to  use  in 
the  transfer  of  goods,  and  while  other  less  re- 
sourceful business  men  were  bewailing  their 
losses  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  were  transporting 


officer,  or  vigilante,  and  the  driver  was  asked 
what  he  was  carrying. 

"Merchandise  from  the  Field  warehouse," 
was  the  reply. 

"And  where  is  it  going?" 

"To  the  car  barns  on  Twentieth  Street." 

"How  is  it,"  asked  the  guard,  "that  these 
cars  are  running  for  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.?" 

"I  don't  know,"  responded  the  driver;  "but 


„.  -■*■ 


mill 
1 


Ull 


in'lCijjlLlDj  lL:^"j:ii' 


ik  sji:>^ 


Wliolesale  Dry  Goods  &  Carpets, 

MAOISON    AND    MARKfel"     STREETS. 


The  wholesale  establishment  of  Field,  Leiter  6-  Co.  and  subsequently  of  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  up  to  1887,  when  removal  took  place  to  the  large  building  of  rough-hewn  granite  occupying  the 
block  between  Adams,  Franklin,  Quincy  and   Wells  Streets. 


merchandise  from  their  reserve  stock  ware- 
houses, which  fortunately  were  untouched,  and 
from  the  various  places  to  which  the  contents 
of  stores  and  warerooms  in  the  burned  section 
had  been  removed. 

Night  and  day,  without  let-up  the  work 
was  carried  on,  the  horse  cars  laden  with 
goods  running  continually  from  warehouses 
and  merchandise  "dumps"  to  the  car  barns  and 
vice  versa. 

Late  one  night  a  carload  of  Field,  Leiter  & 
Co.  merchandise  was  stopped  by  an  inquisitive 


they  are." 

To  which  the  inquisitive  one  replied: 
"Well,  it  beats  all.  It  seems  that  there  is 
nothing  impossible  at  Field's." 

And  this  remark,  uttered  that  dreary  night 
while  Chicago  lay  in  ashes,  has  become  a 
watchword  and  a  slogan  with  the  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  institution. 

As  soon  as  the  embers  of  the  building  at 
State  and  Washington  Streets  had  cooled  suf- 
ficiently to  permit  one  to  go  near  them  a 
post  was  erected  and  to  it  was  tacked  a  rough 


34 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


board,  on  which  had  been  crudely  painted  this 
message  of  cheer  to  the  more  needy  of  those 
who  had  made  Field's  their  working  home: 

"Cash  Boys  and  Work  Girls  Will  Be  Paid 
the  Full  Amount  Due  Them." 

A  striking  example  of  the  firm's  thought 
for  the  members  of  its  personnel!  Despite 
the  loss  of  its  store  and  the  destruction  of  be- 
tween $3,000,000  and  $4,000,000  worth  of  its 
property,  despite  uncertainty  as  to  what  sum 
could  be  recovered  from  the  insurance  com- 
panies (themselves  hard  hit  by  the  disaster) 
and  with  no  certain  prospect  of  rehabilitation 
in  a  city  of  which  a  large  portion  had  been 
laid  waste,  the  members  of  Field,  Leiter  & 
Co.  could  still  stop  and  remember,  even  the 
humblest  of  their  employees. 
^  In  the  difficult  days  that  followed  the  con- 
cern was  able  to  realize  from  its  fire  insurance 
policies  a  total  of  something  like  $2,500,000. 
Some  of  the  insurance  companies  had  proved 
unable  to  meet  their  liabilities,  and  many 
merchants  found  themselves  completely  wiped 
out.  It  is  another  proof  of  the  business  acu- 
men of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  that  the  bulk  of 
their  insurance  had  been  placed  with  strong, 
reliable  concerns. 

Conditions  in  Chicago  were  slow  to  im- 
prove. Kecovery  from  so  great  a  blow  neces- 
sarily required  time.  In  the  East  doubt  was 
expressed  as  to  Chicago's  ability  to  rebuild. 
Many  of  the  local  business  men  were  unable 
to  meet  their  obligations,  and  representatives 
of  Eastern  houses  having  debtors  in  Chicago 
visited  the  city  with  a  view  of  effecting  some 
settlement  of  the  debts  owing  to  them.  To  all 
of  those  who  visited  them  with  this  end  in 
view  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  returned  one  and  the 
same  answer : 

"We  will  pay  our  accounts  on  a  basis  of 
one  hundred  cents  on  the  dollar." 

One  such  manufacturer  had  sold  to  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.  a  large  bill  of  merchandise  which 
was  undelivered  at  the  time  of  the  fire.  Under 
the  law  as  it  existed  or  had  been  interpreted  at 
that  time  it  was  held  that  the  shipment  had 
not  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  Chicago 
firm.  The  representative  of  the  Eastern  con- 
cern,   naturally    anxious    over   the    situation, 


called  on  Mr.  Leiter  and  asked  him  what  he 
was  going  to  do  in  the  matter. 

"We  don't  have  to  pay  you,"  was  the  an- 
swer.   "But  you  will  be  paid  in  full." 

The  avoidance  of  slow-paying  and  other- 
wise doubtful  accounts  by  the  Field-Leiter 
concern  and  the  building  up  of  a  reliable, 
promptly  paying  clientele  again  bore  fruit. 
Requests  for  remittances,  accompanied  by  a 
frank  statement  of  the  causes  were  sent  out, 
and  brought  a  quick  and  satisfactory  response. 

Within  a  few  months  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.'s 
business  was  again  on  a  stable  footing  and 
their  credit  was  unimpaired. 

SO  far  as  the  city  of  Chicago  itself  was  con- 
cerned, the  fire  had  its  compensations.  Its 
low-lying  streets  had  been  difficult  to  pave, 
and,  consequently,  muddy  and  at  times  almost 
impassable.  The  vast  quantities  of  debris  re- 
sulting from  the  destruction  of  buildings,  etc., 
sufficed,  it  is  declared,  to  raise  the  streets  of 
the  devastated  section  to  the  extent  of  two  feet 
as  well  as  to  add  some  forty  acres  of  filled-in 
land  along  the  lake  shore.  At  any  rate,  the 
streets  in  the  section  named  were  raised  in  a 
considerable  degree,  and  new  land  was  added 
to  the  city's  territory. 

Not  only  the  business  section  but  also 
residential  districts  on  the  north  and  to  the 
south  had  been  destroyed.  From  Van  Buren 
Street  to  Lincoln  Park  only  one  struc- 
ture, the  old  Ogden  House,  was  left  standing. 
The  people  living  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
burned  districts  were  without  transportation 
facilities,  there  being  no  means  of  crossing 
the  burned-over  section.  The  car  barns  were 
recognized  as  wholly  unsuitable  as  a  perma- 
nent location  for  the  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.'s 
business.  They  could  not  be  reached  from  the 
north  or  from  the  west,  and  a  store  at  that 
point  could  at  best  serve  only  a  small  sec- 
tion of  the  South  Side.  Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 
began,  therefore,  to  look  about  for  a  new  loca- 
tion. 

To  the  west  of  the  Chicago  River  little 
damage  had  been  done.  From  the  compara- 
tively thickly  populated  West  Side  Madison 
Street   led   into    the   downtown   district   and 


Quick  Work  Follows  the  Great  Fire  of  1871 


35 


where  it  crossed  the  river  it  formed  the  gate- 
way both  to  that  residential  section  and  to  the 
business  portion  of  the  city.  That  particular 
part  of  the  city  was  then  composed  of  small, 
unsightly  dwellings,  interspersed  with  bar- 
rooms, dives  and  similar  disorderly  places. 
With  all  the  facts  in  mind,  however,  as  to  the 
traffic  movement,  the  firm  decided  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Madison  and  Market  Streets  as  a  loca- 
tion where,  on  account  of  the  fine  shipping 
facilities  and  the  extreme  width  of  Market 
Street  at  this  point,  they  determined  to  house 


Owners  of  property  on  State  Street  stood 
aghast.  They  begged  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  to 
return  to  their  old  location  or  to  one  nearer  to 
them.  To  these  requests,  however,  the  firm 
turned  a  deaf  ear,  and,  just  as  traders  had 
followed  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  to  State  Street,  so 
now  retail  concerns  began  to  gravitate  toward 
Madison  and  Market,  so  that  within  a  brief 
period  that  portion  of  the  city  bade  fair  to 
become  the  principal  retail  center. 

This  was  not  to  be,  however.  On  the  for- 
mer site  of  the  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  store  a 


'^K^:«i 


One  of  the  notices  to  employees  immediately  after  the  great  fire  of  1871 


their  wholesale  business  at  this  available  posi- 
tion. The  location  offered  a  solution  of  the 
temporary  care  of  the  retail  trade  tributary  to 
this  point — the  north  side  and  the  great  west 
side  which  had  been  rapidly  expanded  by  the 
necessity  of  housing  the  large  numbers  of 
people  who  had  lost  their  homes  in  the  burnt 
territory.  At  this  point  they  proceeded  to 
erect  there  a  spacious  warehouse. 


spacious  store  structure  was  erected  by  the 
Singer  Sewing  Machine  Co.,  the  concern 
which  had  been  the  purchaser  of  the  building 
put  up  by  Potter  Palmer  and  occupied  by  him 
and  his  successors.  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  On  the 
completion  of  this  new  State  Street  edifice 
Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  leased  it  from  the  Singer 
Co.  and  removed  their  retail  business  from 
both  the  Twentieth  Street  car  barns  and  the 


36 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


Madison  Street  store  to  their  former  location. 
The  wholesale  business  remained,  however,  at 
that  point,  viz.,  the  corner  of  Madison  and 
Market  Streets,  and  expanded  into  the  vacated 
retail  premises. 

Again  the  retail  business  followed  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.  It  deserted  the  vicinity  of  Madi- 
son and  Market  Streets  soon  after  the  removal 
aforementioned,  and  State  Street  regained  the 
supremacy  as  a  retail  thoroughfare  which  it 
has  ever  since  maintained. 


DURING  the  period  immediately  following 
the  fire  the  wholesale  business  of  the 
firm  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds.  This  was 
due,  in  part,  to  the  splendid  credit  standing 
and  purchasing  power  which  the  broad- 
minded  and  progressive  policies  of  Field,  Lei- 
ter &  Co.  had  won  for  them  in  the  world 
markets  and  manufacturing  centers.  In  a  de- 
gree also  it  was  attributable  to  the  conditions 
prevailing  in  Chicago  from  a  merchandise 
supply  standpoint. 

Goods  were  scarce  with  the  majority  of 
concerns  in  Chicago.  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  were 
able  to  offer  both  large  quantities  and  varied 
assortments.  Not  onjy  this,  but  because  of 
the  merchandise  conditions  locally  prevailing 
the  firm  was  able  practically  to  dictate  its  own 
selling  terms  and  could  select  its  customers 
with  even  greater  regard  to  their  responsi- 
bility and  reliability  than  before.  Thus  the 
house  continued  to  build  up  and  keep  on  its 
books  a  class  of  customers  who  could  be  de- 
pended on  for  the  fulfillment  of  all  their  ob- 
ligations. 

Meanwhile,  attention  continued  to  be  given 
to  real  estate.  Unusual  opportunities  for 
purchasing  desirable  parcels  presented  them- 
selves subsequent  to  the  fire  and  from  that 
time  on  until  1885  the  firm  members  increased 
their  holdings  of  desirable  real  property.  It 
was  during  the  period  in  question  that  Mr. 
Field  effected  many  of  those  investments  in 
Chicago  real  estate  which  led  to  holdings,  the 
total  value  of  which  at  the  time  of  his  death. 


thirty  years  later,  was   estimated  to  be  ap^ 
proximately  $100,000,000. 

These  investments  of  members  of  the  firm 
of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  and  especially  of 
Marshall  Field  and  Levi  Z.  Leiter,  exerted  an  ,) 

important  influence  on  Chicago  property  / 
values.  The  real  estate  editors  of  the  local 
newspapers  watched  with  care  the  operations 
of  the  two  men,  and  whenever  they  made  a 
purchase  the  fact  was  made  widely  known. 
The  people  of  Chicago  had  come  to  look  upon 
the  firm  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  as  something 
more  than  dry  goods  merchants.  Their  retail 
store  had  become  a  cause  for  local  pride;  they  / 
were  recognized  as  men  of  exceptional  ability 
and  judgment.  So  a  purchase  of  real  estate 
by  either  Field  or  Leiter  usually  enhanced  the 
value  of  property  in  that  neighborhood. 

Marshall  Field,  however,  by  no  means  con- 
fined to  real  estate  such  financial  operations 
and  enterprises  as  he  undertook  outside  of  his 
wholesale  and  retail  businesses. 

Some  time  prior  to  the  period  with 
which  we  are  now  dealing  he  had  formed  a 
close  acquaintance  with  George  M.  Pullman, 
the  inventor  and  manufacturer  of  the  cars 
which  bear  his  name,  and  this  had  brought 
Mr.  Field  into  close  contact  with  the  railroad 
managements  of  the  Middle  West.  He  had 
also  become  acquainted  with  the  heads  of 
great  concerns  in  other  lines  of  enterprise. 

The  foresight  and  the  keen  and  accurate 
judgment  for  which  Mr.  Field  was  even  then 
becoming  noted  were  evinced  in  the  judicious 
investment  of  the  earnings  he  was  personally 
deriving  from  the  business.  He  selected  for 
this  purpose  railroad  bonds  and  stocks  and  the 
securities  of  banks  and  other  institutions 
which  had  sprung  up  and  were  developing 
along  with  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the 
Western  country. 

These  ventures  were  all  the  more  promis- 
ing and  all  the  more  profitable  because  of  the 
progress  the  West  was  making.  The  era  was 
that  phenomenal  one,  unapproached  elsewhere 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  when  great  cap- 
tains of  industry  were  beginning  to  turn  to 
account    the    vast    resources    of    the    United 


Quick  Work  Follows  the  Great  Fire  of  1871 


37 


States  and  of  the  Western  country  in  particu- 
lar. Kailroads  were  being  constructed,  new 
territory  opened,  forests  felled  and  mines  dug. 

During  the  decade  between  1870  and  1880 
the  Indians,  with  few  exceptions,  were  with- 
drawn from  the  Northwest  and  placed  on  res- 
ervations. The  virgin  farm  lands  thus  made 
available  attracted  hosts  of  settlers,  men  and 


In  supplying  the  trade  created  by  this  in- 
flux the  foreign  offices  established  years  pre- 
viously by  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  under  the  con- 
trol of  Joseph  N.  Field,  proved  a  valuable  and 
effective  instrument.  The  firm  was  thereby 
in  a  position  to  place  before  the  settler  and 
his  family  wares  with  which  they  were  fa- 
miliar and  to  the  use  of  which  they  were  ac- 
customed. 


The  building  at  State  and  Washington  Streets  erected  in  1873  and  occupied  by  Field,  Leiter  & 
Co.  until  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1877.  The  building  measured  160  by  150  //.  and  had  five  floors 
and  basement. 


families  of  sturdy  stock,  familiar  with  agri- 
culture and  soon  to  create  increase  in  the  de- 
mand for  merchandise.  To  Wisconsin  and 
Minnesota  came  the  Scandinavians  and  the 
Germans.  The  latter  also  selected  Iowa  and 
Nebraska  for  their  dwelling  place.  From  Po- 
land, from  Italy  and  from  other  European 
countries  also  there  were  arriving  men  and 
women  determined  to  settle  down  and  "grow 
up  with  the  country." 


During  this  period  there  was  being  devel- 
oped a  separate  personnel  for  the  wholesale 
and  for  the  retail,  with  a  manager  for  each 
of  the  divisions. 

On  these  managers,  in  line  with  the 
method  pursued  by  Marshall  Field  from  the 
start  of  his  association  with  the  business, 
heavy  responsibilities  were  laid,  and  these  re- 
sponsibilities were  augmented  as  time  went 
on. 


38 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


Relatively  great  responsibilities  were 
vested  in  the  heads  of  departments,  with  the 
result  that  Marshall  Field  himself  is  quoted 
as  saying,  "I  have  developed  in  these  two 
organizations  not  department  managers  or 
buyers,  but  men  who  are  specialists  in  the 
handling  of  merchandise." 

Having  as  chief  directors  of  each  branch 
of  the  business  men  who  were  themselves  mer- 
chants of  the  highest  order,  men  whom  he 
could  trust  implicitly  for  the  consistent  carry- 
ing on  of  his  dry  goods  businesses  along  the 
lines  which  had  brought  the  concern  to  the 
commanding  position  it  now  occupied,  Mar- 
shall Field  was  able  to  devote  much  of  his 
time  and  energy  to  his  other  interests  as  well 
as  to  those  of  his  city  and  community.  His 
counsel  was  eagerly  sought  in  various  quar- 
ters. 

On  the  mooting  of  a  project  for  the  city's 
betterment — say,  the  extension  of  a  promi- 
nent thoroughfare  or  the  development  of  a 
new  section — the  City  Council,  real  estate 
owners,  builders  and  others  turned  instinctive- 
ly to  Marshall  Field  for  advice  and  inspiration. 
Among  these  instances,  though  of  a  later 
period  than  that  we  are  now  discussing,  was 
the  widening  of  Michigan  Avenue  below  Jack- 
son Boulevard,  as  the  latter  thoroughfare  is 


now  named.  To  his  counsel  and  influence  was 
largely  due  the  development  in  question  and 
the  consequent  linking  of  the  North  Side  with 
the  South  Side. 

In  association  with  others  he  joined  in  the 
organization  and  development  of  a  bank, 
which  became  one  of  the  most  important  in 
Chicago. 

He  also  gave  of  his  time  and  effort  in  the 
fostering  of  the  love  for  art  and  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  providing  the  means  for  its  grati- 
fication. To  him  the  city  of  Chicago  owes  the 
Field  Museum,  one  of  its  most  noteworthy 
institutions.  This  he  established  in  1893  and 
endowed  with  a  gift  of  $1,000,000.  He  pre- 
sented the  University  of  Chicago  with  land 
valued  at  $450,000.  He  was  also  a  trustee  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  and  a  gener- 
ous contributor  to  that  and  other  religious 
denominations. 

As  above  suggested,  however,  Mr.  Field 
continued  to  supervise  the  management  of  his 
dry  goods  businesses  from  a  broad  stand- 
point and  although  so  much  of  his  attention 
was  devoted  to  matters  of  national  scope  as 
well  as  to  local  civic  affairs,  he  found  time  to 
maintain  his  contact  with  the  employees  of 
both  of  his  establishments. 


CHAPTER  VI 


JOHN  G.  SHEDD  JOINS  THE  FIELD  ORGANIZATION 

UNUSUAL  interest  centers  not  only  the  force  to  do  more  than  maintain  the  house 
around  the  career  of  Marshall  Field  but  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  in  the  proud  position 
also  around  those  of  some  of  his  associ-  which  it  had  won.  Despite  the  mighty  changes 
ates.  The  most  salient  instance  is  that  of  one  which  were  to  come  over  business  and  busi- 
who  as  a  young  man  became  connected  with  ness  methods  in  the  United  States,  he  suc- 
the  concern  in  the 
late  summer  of 
1872,  during  the 
rebuilding  of  the 
State  Street 
store. 

Entering  the 
store,  the  young 
man  applied  for  a 
position. 

"What  can 
you  do?"  Marshall 
Field  inquired. 

"Sir,  I  can 
sell  anything," 
was  the  confident 
reply. 

"Had  any  ex- 
perience?" was 
the  next  question 
shot  at  him. 

"Yes ;  several 
years  selling  and 
merchandising  in 
Vermont  and  New 
Hampshire." 

"You  will  do," 
decided  the  mer- 
chant. "We  will 
give  you  a  job  at 
ten  dollars  a  week 

as  stock-boy  and  salesman  in  the  linen  depart- 
ment.   What  is  your  name?" 

"John  G.  Shedd,"  answered  the  young  man. 

Thus  there  was  brought  into  the  organiza- 
tion a  man  who  was  destined  to  become  in 
later  years  its  head.  As  this  story  will 
clearly  show,  Mr.  Shedd  had  the  vision  and 


John  G.  Shedd,  President  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 


ceeded  in  expand- 
ing its  activities 
in  a  degree  of 
which  probably 
its  great  founder 
never  dreamed 
and  has  raised 
the  institution  to 
a  n  extraordinar- 
ily high  place  in 
the  estimation  of 
the  American 
public  and  of 
business  men 
throughout  the 
world. 

When  he  join- 
ed the  forces  of 
Field,  Leiter  & 
Co.  Mr.  Shedd 
was  in  his  twenty- 
second  year.  Like 
his  new  employer, 
he  had  been 
raised  on  a  New 
England  farm, 
had  learned 
through  privation 
and  lessons  of  in- 
dustry and  self- 
denial.  In  short, 
his  upbringing  and  early  training  had  re- 
sembled in  no  small  degree  those  of  Marshall 
Field. 

Even  as  a  boy  John  Graves  Shedd  had 
sensed  the  limitations  of  New  England  farm 
life,  had  realized  the  possibilities  that  lay  out 
beyond  the  distant  hills,  had  a  vision  of  what 


39 


40 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


youth,  energy  and  ability  might  accomplish 
amid  the  busy  haunts  of  men  and  particularly 
in  the  new  and  rapidly  growing  West. 

The  thought,  the  vision  probably  grew  into 
determination  without  the  boy  being  con- 
scious of  the  process.  At  any  rate,  his  final 
decision  was  the  immediate  result  of  an  ac- 
cident and  was  reached  with  what  by  the 
other  members  of  his  family  must  have  been 
regarded  as  startling  suddenness. 

With  his  brother  he  was  sugaring  in  the 
New  Hampshire  woods.  Winter  is  severe  in 
the  Granite  State,  and  the  cold  was  intense. 
The  boys  and  their  span  of  oxen  hauling  the 
heavy  sled  had  wallowed  through  huge  snow- 
drifts to  reach  the  sugar  maple  grove.  They 
carried  the  freshly  gathered  sap  in  heavy 
pails,  hung  from  a  "yoke"  carried  on  the 
shoulders.  Thus  loaded,  the  young  John  G. 
slipped  on  the  frozen  ground  and  fell.  The 
flowing  sap  ran  from  the  pail  into  one  of  his 
high  boots,  filling  it  with  the  fluid.  His 
brother,  standing  by,  was  convulsed  with 
laughter. 

That  accident  turned  the  scale;  the  acci- 
dent crystallized  the  determination,  the  de- 
sire that  had  so  long  been  latent. 

The  future  merchant  rose  from  the 
ground,  threw  down  yoke  and  pails  and  start- 
ed for  the  settlement. 

"Where  are  you  going,  John?"  asked  his 
brother,  in  surprise. 

"I'm  going  to  quit  the  farm,"  was  the  curt 
reply. 

And  quit  he  did,  though  not  until  he  had 
looked  carefully  around  for  some  promising 
opening.  He  had  dreamed  at  times  of  becom- 
ing a  lawyer  or  a  minister,  but  sufficient  funds 
not  being  available  for  the  necessary  college 
education  both  of  these  professions  seemed  out 
of  the  question.  Business,  however,  required 
no  matriculation,  no  previous  years  of  burning 
of  the  midnight  oil.  So  his  dreams  of  success 
at  the  bar  or  ministry  he  put  behind  him  and 
planned  a  career  as  a  merchant.  At  that  time 
he  was  sixteen  years  of  age. 

He  secured  his  first  position  on  June  14, 
1867.    His  employer  kept  a  little  shop,  dealing 


in  fruit  and  what  we  now  know  as  delicatessen, 
at  Bellows  Falls,  Vt.  The  lad's  remuneration 
consisted  of  a  yearly  salary  of  $75  and  his 
board  and  lodging. 

A  year  later  he  found  a  position  in  a  gen- 
eral store  run  by  one  Timothy  Tufts  in 
Alstead,  N.  H.,  Shedd's  native  town.  Three 
months  later  the  store  was  burned  to  the 
ground.  Shedd,  however,  had  demonstrated 
his  ability  as  a  salesman,  and  found  no  trouble 
in  finding  another  position  in  the  town,  his 
new  employer  being  James  H.  Porter.  He 
there  received  a  yearly  salary  of  $125,  to- 
gether with  board  and  lodging — a  considerable 
increase  over  what  Tufts  had  been  paying  him. 

While  working  in  the  Porter  store  young 
Shedd  made  the  ecquaintance  of  the  pro- 
prietor's niece,  and  subsequently  married  her. 

Shedd's  industry  and  ability  had  attracted 
the  attention  of  a  man  who  was  a  silent 
partner  in  a  store  in  Rutland,  Vt.,  conducted 
by  a  merchant  named  C.  A.  Parkhurst.  The 
young  man  was  offered  a  position  there,  and 
this  he  accepted,  removing  to  Rutland  in 
April,  1870.  This  new  position  gave  him  a 
salary  of  $175  a  year,  with  board.  This  re- 
muneration was  increased  at  various  times 
during  the  ensuing  year  or  so.  He  was  then 
offered  a  position  by  B.  H.  Burt,  in  Rutland, 
who  at  that  time  was  credited  with  owning 
the  best  store  in  the  State.  The  salary  was 
$600  a  year  without  board  and  lodging,  but 
plus  a  commission  which  about  made  up  for 
that  deficiency. 

STILL  the  young  man  had  his  eyes  turned 
toward  greater  things,  and  wider  oppor- 
tunities. He  asked  and  obtained  leave  to  take 
a  vacation  and  went  to  visit  a  brother  and  sis- 
ter in  Illinois.  Thus  it  was  that  he  reached 
Chicago  and  held  his  first  interview  with 
Marshall  Field. 

The  conditions  in  Chicago  in  that  year  fol- 
lowing the  great  fire,  together  with  those 
faced  and  surmounted  by  Field,  Leiter  &  Co., 
have  been  traced  in  a  previous  chapter.  Ref- 
erence has  also  been  made  to  the  strict  scru- 
tiny extended  to  all  of  the   merchants  who 


John  G.  Shedd  Joins  the  Field  Organization 


41 


bought,  or  might  desire  to  buy,  of  Field,  Lei- 
ter  &  Co.  on  a  credit  basis.  To  what  has  been 
stated  on  this  latter  subject  may  here  be 
added  the  fact  that  it  was  not  altogether  an 
uncommon  thing  to  find  in  some  center  in  the 
Middle  West  a  merchant  who  would  declare 
that  he  "had  never  bought  at  Field's." 

To  this  condition  the  new  salesman  at 
Field's  owed  a  somewhat  mortifying  but  high- 
ly instructive  experience. 

He  had  been  with  the  concern  but  a  short 
time  when  a  man  entered  the  store  and  ap- 


ments  made  as  to  shipment.  As  luck  would 
have  it,  Mr.  Leiter  was  at  the  desk  when  sales- 
man and  customer  approached. 

Looking  at  the  saleslip,  Leiter  noted  the 
merchant's  name,  and  turning  sharply  toward 
him  bade  him  "Get  out  of  the  store  and  never 
come  back  in  an  attempt  to  buy  goods  of  the 
Field  concern." 

"You  know  your  business  is  not  wanted 
here,"  Leiter  added.  "Any  man  who  failed  as 
you  did  and  tried  to  effect  such  a  dishonest 
settlement  is  not  welcome  here.    We  not  only 


Birthplace  of  John  G.  Shedd  at  Alstead,  N.  H. 
Courtesy   Charles   N.    Vilas,   Alstead,   N.   H. 


proached  young  Shedd  with  a  view  of  pur- 
chasing a  bill  of  goods.  The  man,  it  ap- 
peared, came  from  a  progressive  town  and 
looked  as  if  he  would  prove  a  desirable  cus- 
tomer for  the  concern.  Naturally,  the  young 
salesman  was  elated  when  on  totaling  up  the 
order  for  hosiery  he  found  it  amounted  to 
more  than  $800. 

In  accordance  with  the  rules  of  the  house, 
he  accompanied  the  customer  to  the  credit 
desk,  to  have  the  sale   O.K.'d  and   arrange- 


won't  give  you  credit  but  we  don't  want  any 
cash  business  from  you." 

And  get  out  the  would-be  customer  did, 
much  to  the  chagrin  and  discomfiture  of  the 
young  salesman. 

"It  was  my  first  big  bill,"  commented  Mr. 
Shedd  in  relating  this  incident,  "and  it  was 
the  first  time  I  had  ever  heard  a  customer  ad- 
dressed in  such  a  peremptory  manner.  But 
the  incident  taught  me  a  lesson  in  credit 
granting — or     rather     credit     refusing — and 


42 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


moreover  a  lesson  as  to  the  value  of  a  reputa- 
tion for  character  and  integrity — which  I 
have  never  forgotten.  Not  only  that,  but  the 
words  of  Mr.  Leiter  gave  me  a  very  strong 
and  distinct  impression  of  the  standards  of 
Field,  Leiter  &  Co." 

Little  time  elapsed  before  Mr.  Shedd  had 
demonstrated  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  new 
employers  that  his  claim  that  he  could  "sell 
anything"  had  been  no  idle  boast.  He  soon 
became  recognized  as  one  of  the  star  sales- 
men in  the  concern's  wholesale  business. 

To  Mr.  Willing,  who,  as  has  been  stated, 
was  a  partner  in  the  Field-Leiter  concern, 
and  one  of  its  most  important  managers,  is 
attributed  much  of  Mr.  Shedd's  progress  dur- 
ing the  period  under  consideration.  The  de- 
partment in  which  Mr.  Shedd  had  been 
placed  was  one  of  those  under  Mr.  Willing's 
direct  supervision,  and  the  latter  possessed  a 
keen  understanding  of  young  men  and  was 
eager  to  aid  all  who  showed  themselves  worthy 
of  his  assistance.  Mr.  Willing  was  also  en- 
dowed with  the  faculty  of  imparting  to  others 
the  principles  of  business  he  himself  so  well 
understood.  On  this  subject  Mr.  Shedd  has 
remarked : 

"Henry  J.  Willing  was  a  merchant  of  ex- 
ceptional ability,  and  he  more  than  any  other 
man   was   instrumental    in   teaching   me   the 
methods  of  merchandising  as  carried  on   in 
the  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  store  and  in  helping 
me  to  apply  the  knowledge  thus  gained.     It 
was  through  learning  my  first  lessons  from  a 
^       man  so  thoroughly  grounded  in  the  principles 
of  business  that  I  was  able  to  grasp  in  their 
,       full  magnitude  the  operations  carried  on  by 
'\       Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  and  render  effective  aid  in 
their  expansion  and  further  development." 

ON  entering  the  employ  of  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  Mr.  Shedd  received  a  salary  of  $10 
per  week.  This  was  considerably  less  than  he 
had  been  earning  in  the  Vermont  center,  for 
out  of  the  $10  he  had  to  defray  the  expense  of 
his  board  and  lodging.  It  had  been  agreed, 
however,  that  if  the  young  stock-boy  and  sales 


man  "made  good"  his  salary  would  be  in- 
creased to  $12.  It  was  but  a  short  time  sub- 
sequent to  his  engagement  when  tangible 
proof  was  given  that  he  had  more  than  ful- 
filled the  expectations  Mr.  Field  had  enter- 
tained at  the  time  of  hiring.  In  other  words, 
Shedd  found  in  his  weekly  pay  envelope  not 
$10,  or  even  $12,  but  $14. 

Believing  that  some  mistake  had  occurred, 
he  took  the  matter  to  Mr.  Willing.  To  his 
inquiry  that  gentleman  answered:  "No  mis- 
take whatever.  That  extra  money  is  paid  you 
because  we  feel  that  you  are  doing  excellent 
work." 

Not  content  to  be  a  capable  stock-boy  or 
even  a  successful  salesman,  young  Shedd 
turned  his  thoughts  to  other  phases  of  the 
business  in  which  he  believed  his  ideas  could 
be  useful. 

For  example,  he  had  noted  there  was  fre- 
quently a  considerable  accumulation  of  odd 
sizes  in  various  kinds  of  merchandise  such  as 
collars,  hosiery,  shirts,  gloves,  etc.,  the  popu- 
lar sizes  being  sold  out,  leaving  an  accumula- 
tion in  these  slow  selling  numbers.  He  con- 
cluded from  observation  that  this  condition 
was  attributable  to  the  general  rule  then  in 
vogue  for  the  personal  judgment  of  buyers  to 
be  the  determining  factor  as  to  quantities  and 
assortments  in  providing  for  future  sales  and 
to  the  lack  of  exact  information  as  to  needs 
based  on  previous  sales.  The  method  of  having 
buyers  go  to  either  domestic  or  foreign  mar- 
kets with  only  previous  purchases  instead  of 
previous  sales  to  guide  them  seemed  entirely 
inadequate  to  the  young  salesman. 

Having  proved  the  existence  of  this  hap- 
hazard method,  and  shown  how  it  could  be 
remedied,  Mr.  Shedd  obtained  permission  to 
go  through  the  books  and  check  up  the  sales 
in  all  lines  through  a  considerable  period.  He 
was  thus  enabled  to  devise  a  systematic 
method  of  accounting  of  merchandise  as  ap- 
plied to  the  entire  business,  a  system  that 
could  be  employed  as  an  accurate  guide  in 
buying. 

These  data  he  took  to  Mr.  Willing,  who. 


John  G.  Shedd  Joins  the  Field  Organization 


43 


as  already  stated,  had  charge  of  a  number 
of  merchandise  departments  besides  that  in 
which  Shedd  was  working. 

After  careful  examination  and  study  Mr. 
Willing  became  convinced  of  the  value  of  the 
results  Shedd  had  obtained  and  Mr.  Field  had 
his  ideas  of  merchandise  accounting  adopted 
by  the  house,  and  the  buying  policy  of  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.  came  to  be  based  largely  on  such 
data  as  the  young  salesman  had  devised  and 
worked  out.  Later  on,  the  system  was  fur- 
ther developed — especially  in  connection  with 
the  seasonal  demand  for  certain  goods — with 


Mr.  Shedd,  entering  the  wholesale  business 
fresh  from  several  years'  experience  in  retail- 
ing, was  able  to  recognize  and  surmount 
many  of  the  difficulties  in  keeping  an  ordinary 
stock  of  merchandise  well  assorted  without 
maintaining  too  large  an  investment.  His 
practical  experience  in  handling  goods  en- 
abled him  to  suggest  new  methods  of  arrang- 
ing and  packaging  which  helped  to  facilitate 
the  work  of  the  retail  merchant.  In  those 
days  many  lines  of  piece  goods  were  folded 
with  no  regard  for  the  convenience  of  the  re- 
tailer.   Large  unwieldy  lapped  pieces  of  table 


Collecting  Maple  Sap  for  Sugar 

Looking  at  this  photograph  illustration,  the  original  of  which  is  among  Mr.  Shedd's  treasured  possessions,  one  may 
readily  visualise  the  New  Hamphire  landscape  and  the  activities  of  the  boy  and  his  brother  or  at  the  moment  when 
the  desire  to  be  a  merchant  zvas  developed  by  an  accident  into  the  determination  which  led  the  New  England 
boy    to    Chicago    and   subsequently    to    the    topmost    round    of  the  mercantile  ladder. 


the  result  that  overbuying  of  slow  selling  mer- 
chandise was  reduced  to  a  minimum.  To  the 
manufacturers  also  the  analyses  carried  on 
by  the  Field-Leiter  concern  and  its  buyers 
were  of  decided  value,  for  they  gave  a  clear 
indication  as  to  the  proportionate  quantities 
of  each  color,  size,  pattern,  etc.,  which  it  was 
advisable  to  produce. 


linens  and  many  other  textiles  seemed  en- 
tirely unnecessary  to  Mr.  Shedd,  but  the  fixed 
habit  of  the  manufacturer  stood  in  the  way  of 
a  change.  By  persistence  and  patience,  how- 
ever, he  obtained  from  the  manufacturers 
bolts  half  the  length  of  the  old-fashioned 
pieces  and  carefully  rolled  on  boards. 

This  method  of  packaging  piece  goods  has 


44 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


long  since  become  standard  practice  in  the 
dry  goods  business  and  it  remains  as  one  of 
the  many  reminders  to  those  who  know  the 
history  of  dry  goods  merchandising  that  Mr. 
Shedd  was  constantly  devising  ways  and 
means  to  assist  the  retailer  in  stock  keeping, 
money  investment  and  many  others  of  his 
problems. 


other  matters.  He  still  retained  the  direction 
of  the  sections  that  continued  under  his 
immediate  charge,  but  he  had  succeeded  in 
developing  in  them  assistants  so  able  and  re- 
liable that  to  them  he  could  with  security 
delegate  all  but  the  principal  details  of  opera- 
tion. 

It  may  readily  be  surmised  that  Mr.  Field 


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Personnel  of  John  G.  Shedd's  department,  from  a  photo  token  Sept.  4,  1883 
Mr,  Shedd  is  seated  in  the  front  row,  the  fourth  from  the  left 


Encouraged  by  the  reception  accorded  to 
his  ideas,  Mr.  Shedd  went  on  to  study  other 
conditions  and  suggest  improvements,  with 
the  result  that  his  opportunities  for  useful- 
ness were  broadened  and  increased.  He  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  neckwear  sec- 
tion. Subsequently  the  lace  section  was 
placed  under  his  charge  and  it  gradually  came 
about  that  without  having  direct  supervision 
of  other  sections  his  advice  was  sought  in 
connection  with  merchandise  lines  generally. 

In  the  early  '80's  he  had  won  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  one  of  the  keenest  merchandis- 
ers in  the  store.  More  than  this,  his  judg- 
ment was  sought  and  carried  weight  in  many 


kept  in  sufficiently  close  contact  with  all  de- 
velopments to  be  well  aware  of  how  valuable 
an  aid  the  young  man  from  New  Hampshire 
and  Vermont  had  become.  The  best  proof  that 
this  was  the  case  is  furnished  by  the  advance- 
ment of  Mr.  Shedd  to  partnership  in  the  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.  firm. 

The  qualities  which  enabled  Mr.  Shedd  to 
reach  this  point  and  to  reach  still  greater 
heights  were  recently  summarized  in  an  ef- 
fective way  by  the  superintendent  of  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.'s  retail  store.  In  addressing 
a  number  of  new  employees,  most  of  whom 
were  young  fellows  just  entering  their  busi- 
ness career — for  it  is  one  of  the  policies  of 


John  G.  Shedd  Joins  the  Field  Organization 


45 


Marshall  Field  &  Co.  to  employ  young  fel- 
lows and  train  them — the  superintendent  used 
these  words: 

"Years  ago  there  came  into  this  store  a 
young  fellow  who  from  the  first  demonstrated 
by  the  eagerness  with  which  he  set  about  his 
work  his  intense  ambition  to  succeed.  He 
was  employed  first  as  a  stock  keeper  and  sales- 
man, and  at  his  first  job  this  young  fellow  ex- 
celled. It  was  found  that  the  stock  over  which 
he  had  charge  was  the  best  kept  and  most 
conveniently  arranged  in  the  store.  He  recog- 
nized from  the  first  few  weeks  the  importance 
of  alert  observation  and  of  giving  all  his  in- 
telligence to  the  study  of  his  job.  His  ener- 
gies were  bent  on  improving  his  methods  of 
working. 

"Naturally  enough,  young  John  did  not  re- 
main a  stock  boy  long.  The  creative  effort  he 
gave  to  all  his  work  marked  him  for  more 
important  responsibilities.  His  knowledge  of 
stock  increased  his  ability  as  a  salesman.  His 
ambition  was  given  fuller  opportunity  to  be 
reflected  in  able  work;  and  as  the  years  went 
on  he  was  rewarded  by  steady  promotions. 

"From  the  first  no  task  was  too  difficult  or 
disagreeable  to  be  accomplished;  no  problem 
was  too  involved  to  prevent  a  solution ;  no  un- 
dertaking was  so  trivial  as  to  be  unworthy  of 
study.  As  his  responsibilities  grew,  so  also 
grew  his  capacity  for  work.  And  his  rela- 
tionship with  those  above  and  below  him  in 
the  business  organization  was  characterized 
by  friendliness,  thoughtfulness  and  courtesy. 
As  successive  promotions  gave  him  more  and 
more  executive  responsibility,  the  fine  quality 
of  his  attitude  toward  others  became  more 
and  more  evident.  'Come  on,'  not  'go  on,'  was 
always  his  counsel.  Instead  of  pushing  and 
driving,  he  guided  and  assisted  his  men  to 
carry  their  responsibilities.  He  developed 
them  by  encouragement  and  example  and  wise 
direction. 


"In  later  years,  when  John  G.  Shedd  had 
grown  to  be  a  man  of  fifty  years,  Marshall 
Field  died  and  left  the  hardest  job  in  the  store 
— that  of  president — to  be  filled.  Mr.  Shedd 
was  the  man  the  business  had  to  have.  The 
spirit  which  had  held  his  energies  untiringly 
to  each  task  of  the  many  years  of  his  rela- 
tionship with  this  company,  fitted  him  for 
the  post,  and  all  who  knew  him  knew  confi- 
dently that  he  would  carry  his  new  responsi- 
bility better  than  any  man. in  the  institution. 
To-day  the  former  stock  boy,  John  Graves 
Shedd,  is  president  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co." 

Here  is  the  reason  why  Mr.  Shedd  was  so 
rapidly  promoted  from  one  department  to  an- 
other, as  given  by  one  of  the  older  men  of  the 
Field  organization: 

"As  I  see  it,  the  reason  Mr.  Field  pro- 
moted him  was  because  Mr.  Shedd  developed 
in  his  department  men  who  were  so  much 
better  on  details  than  he  himself  was;  and  so 
Mr.  Field  had  to  promote  him,  in  order  to  give 
the  new  man  a  chance. 

"Let  me  tell  you  also  that  it  became  almost 
the  rule  that  if  a  man  was  promoted  to  an 
important  post,  such  as  that  of  the  head  of  a 
department,  you  could  bet  on  his  turning  out 
to  be  one  of  those  Mr.  Shedd  had  picked  out 
and  trained." 

It  is  pertinent,  also,  to  quote  a  remark  let 
fall  by  Mr.  Field  on  one  occasion  which  is  in- 
dicative of  his  views  on  this  subject. 

It  was  during  a  Congressional  hearing  in 
the  course  of  which  Mr.  Field  gave  his  testi- 
mony, and  in  quoting  certain  statements  he 
cited  as  his  authority,  "The  man  whom  I  be- 
lieve to  be  the  greatest  merchant  in  the 
United  States."  The  members  of  the  com- 
mittee were  anxious  to  know  who  that  man 
was;  they  had  believed  Mr.  Field  to  be  the 
one  man  entitled  to  that  description.  So  they 
asked  him  to  tell  them  whom  he  had  in  mind. 
"That  man  is  John  G.  Shedd,"  was  the  reply. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  FIRM  OF  MARSHALL  FIELD  &  CO.  IS  BORN 


IN  July,  1877,  the  beautiful  building  which 
had  been  erected  on  the  site  of  the  original 
State  Street  store  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 
subsequent  to  the  great  fire  of  1871,  fell  a  vic- 
tim to  the  flames.  A  careless  mechanic,  who 
had  been  repairing  the  roof,  on  quitting  work 
left  his  lighted  blow-torch  behind  him.  The 
roof  took  fire,  and  the  flames  spread  until  the 


their  retail  store  subsequent  to  the  fire  of 
1871  and  up  to  the  time  of  the  new  disaster. 
The  Singer  Co.  at  once  tore  down  the  rem- 
nants of  the  burned  edifice,  with  the  intention 
of  rebuilding  and  in  the  expectation  that  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.  would  desire  to  again  become  its 
tenants. 

Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  showed  little  interest 


The  Exposition  Building,  where  Field,  Leiter   &    Co.    temporarily    located    their   retail    business 
after  fire   had  destroyed  their  store  at  State  and   Washington  Streets. 


destruction  of  the  building  and  its  contents 
was  complete. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  disaster  of  six  years 
previously.  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  were  prompt 
to  take  effective  measures  for  the  resumption 
of  business.  What  was  known  as  the  Exposi- 
tion Building,  situated  on  the  lake  front,  at 
the  foot  of  Monroe  Street,  was  leased  and 
fitted  up  for  store  purposes,  and  stocks  of  mer- 
chandise were  installed.  The  wholesale  branch, 
it  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark,  was  a  potent 
means  of  bringing  about  an  immediate  re- 
sumption of  the  retail  business. 

The  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Co.,  as  stated 
in  a  previous  chapter,  had  put  up  the  building 
which  the  Field-Leiter  firm  had  occupied  for 


in  the  proposition,  and  thus,  although  several 
conferences  were  held  between  members  of 
the  two  concerns  and  offers  and  counter-offers 
were  exchanged,  no  definite  results  were  ob- 
tained. 

The  fact  was  that  the  parties  were  unable 
to  meet  on  a  common  ground  as  regards  price, 
the  Singer  Co.  asking  for  the  building  and  site 
$700,000  and  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  offering  half 
a  million  dollars  for  the  property. 

Nevertheless,  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  were  dis- 
satisfied with  the  facilities  afforded  by  the 
Exposition  Building.  Business  had  not  flowed 
into  the  store  in  that  location  in  the  antici- 
pated degree.  Moreover,  their  lease  of  the 
Exposition  Building  was  of  a  temporary  char- 


46 


The  Firm  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  Is  Born 


47 


acter,  the  trustees  of  the  Exposition  desiring 
ultimately  to  return  the  building  to  its  original 
use. 

Under  these  circumstances,  Field,  Leiter 
&  Co.  began  to  look  around  for  a  more  suit- 
able location  and  one  which  promised  to  be 
so  satisfactory  that  it  would  become  the  per- 
manent home  of  the  firm's  retail  business. 

Premises  were  secured  on  Wabash  Avenue, 
between  Monroe  and  Adams  Streets.  This, 
however,  failed  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
the  firm.  Business  did  not  develop  as  rapidly 
as  had  been  expected,  and  in  this  case  the 
city's  retail  business  did  not  follow  the  firm 
to  its  new  location  on  Wabash  Avenue,  as  had 
been  the  case  subsequent  to  its  prior  removals. 

Fortunately,  circumstances  developed  which 
made  feasible  the  reopening  of  negotiations 
for  the  purchase  of  the  new  building  which 
the  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Co.  had  recently 
completed  on  the  site  of  the  former  Field- 
Leiter  store;  that  is,  on  the  corner  of  State 
and  Washington  Streets.  After  considerable 
parleying,  a  deal  was  consummated.  The  price 
paid  for  the  building  and  site  was  that  which 


had  originally  been  asked  and  adhered  to  by 
the  Singer  Co.  In  addition,  a  bonus  of  $100,- 
000  was  paid  to  another  firm  to  whom  a  lease 
had  been  given,  the  wisdom  of  which  de- 
veloped a  difference  of  opinion  between  the 
two  principal  partners  which  was  the  principal 
cause  of  the  delay  in  making  the  purchase. 
In  this  way  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  were  enabled 
to  obtain  immediate  possession  of  the  historic 
corner  property  which  has  since  continued  to 
be  a  part  of  the  Field  retail  establishment  and 
on  which  now  stands  a  portion  of  the  present 
main  building. 

The  wisdom  of  the  purchase  by  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.,  despite  the  large  outlay  involved, 
an  immense  one  for  that  day,  has  since  been 
attested  by  the  growth  of  the  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  retail  establishment.  The  deal  proved  a 
fortunate  one  not  only  for  the  Field-Leiter 
firm  and  its  successors  but  also  for  other 
property  ovraers  in  the  vicinity,  since  it  gave 
that  lasting  impetus  which  has  made  State 
Street  to-day  probably  the  world's  most  re- 
markable retail  center. 

Following  the  purchase  of  the  State  Street 


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The  premises  on  \[' abash  Avenue,  between  Monroe  and  Adams  Streets,  to  which  Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 
removed  from  the  Exposition  Building.  The  illustrations  are  from  the  firm's  advertisements  of 
the  period. 


48 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


building  and  site  and  removal  of  the  firm's 
retail  business  thereto,  Mr.  Field's  interest  in 
that  branch  of  his  institution — which,  as  al- 
ready stated,  had  always  been  keen — continued 
to  increase,  and  he  became  more  insistent  on 
the  development  of  that  branch  of  the  firm's 
affairs. 


competition    was    becoming   more   and    more 
acute. 

Other  stores,  too,  had  adopted  the  progres- 
sive merchandising  methods  initiated  .by 
Stewart  and  Field.  Altogether,  Marshall  Field 
realized  that  if  the  pre-eminence  of  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.'s  retail  store  was  to  be  main- 


The  building  at  State  and  Washington  Streets  erected  after  the  fire  of  1877  and  occupied  by 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  in  1879. 


Marshall  Field  had  long  been  impressed 
with  the  growth  of  Chicago.  The  little  city 
he  had  studied  so  carefully  twenty  years  be- 
fore was  fast  developing  into  a  metropolis.  It 
was  recognized  as  the  gateway  to  the  West 
and  Northwest  and  was  becoming  the  great 
railroad  center  which  it  has  since  continued 
to  be.  Moreover,  A.  T.  Stewart  had  opened  in 
Chicago  a  branch  of  his  famous  New  York 
store,  and  with  this,  accompanied  by  the  en- 
trance of  a  new  Chicago  house  into  the  field, 


tained  new  and  strenuous  effort  must  be  given 
to  its  development. 

Leiter,  on  the  other  hand,  had  consistently 
'  shown  a  preference  for  the  wholesale  branch 
of  the  business.  He  was  apparently  more 
deeply  impressed  by  the  development  of  the 
Western  country  than  by  that  of  his  city,  while 
Marshall  Field,  though  by  no  means  unob- 
servant of  the  way  in  which  the  West  was 
building  up  or  neglectful  of  the  whole- 
sale end,    realized   that   the   possibilities  pre- 


The  Firm  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  Is  Born 


49 


sented  by  Chicago  were  practically  boundless. 

The  two  men  differed  in  temperament  as 

well  as  in  views,  and  at  various  times  during 


CHICAGO,  Miiktt  tnd  Mtdiion  Su. 
NEW  YO«K,  104  Wonh  SliMt. 
MANCHESTER.  ]T  Fiulknar  Su«*t. 
PARIS,  46  Ruf  d«f  PatltM  Eeuiiai 


<^Z««^^^»«,  3S,  /<fS/ 


The  Copartners/lip  heretofore  existing  under  the  frm 
name  and  style  of  Field,  Leiter  £  Co.  is  this  day  dissolved 
by  mutual  agreement  of  the  members  thereof.  Mr.  L  Z. 
Leiter  retiring  from  said  firm. 


MARSHALL  FIELD. 
LEVI  Z.  LEITER. 
LORENZO  G.  WOODHOUSE. 
HENRY  J.  WILLING. 
HARLOW  N,  HIGINBOTHAM, 
JOSEPH  N.  FIELD. 
HENRY  FIELD. 


The  business  of  the  late  firm  of  Field,  Leiter  £  Co.,  in 
all  its  departments,  will  be  continued  by  the  undersigned, 
under  the  name  and  style  of  MAff SHALL  FIELD  £  CO. 


MARSHALL  FIELD. 
LORENZO  G.  WOODHOUSE. 
HENRY  J.  WILLING. 
HAKLOW  N.  HIGINDOTHAM. 
JOSEPH  N^  FIELD. 
HENRY  FIELD. 


yery  respectfully, 

Marshall  Field  &  Co, 


Notice  of  dissolution  of  firn\  of  Field,  Letter 
&  Co. 


their  association  friction  between  them  had 
arisen. 

Of  the  two  men,  Marshall  Field  was  by 
all  odds  the  stronger  character.  Both  of  them 
were  men  of  vision,  but  Field's  views  were 
sounder  than  Leiter's  and  based  on  a  truer  ap- 
preciation of  facts.  By  Mr.  Field,  moreover, 
the  policies  and  principles  of  the  organization 
had  been  originated  and  carried  on.  Mr.  Lei- 
ter had,  throughout,  devoted  his  work  for  the 
firm  chiefly  to  its  financial  side.  He  had  not 
been  in  touch  with  the  other  partners  in  the 
same  degree  as  Mr.  Field.  Nor  had  Leiter 
played  anything  like  as  active  a  part  in  the 
^development  of  the  organization. 

The  greater  insistence  on  the  part  of  Mar- 
shall Field  on  the  development  of  the  retail 


business  widened  the  breach  which  had  for 
years  been  slowly  opening.  The  relations  be- 
tween the  two  men  were  further  strained  by 
disputes  over  the  boundaries  between  certain 
of  their  real  estate  holdings. 

On  Jan.  25,  1881,  a  rumor  spread  through 
Chicago  that  the  firm  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 
had  dissolved.  Strenuous  efforts  were  exerted 
by  the  newspaper  editors  and  reporters  to  ob- 
tain an  authoritative  statement — but  in  vain, 
for  both  Field  and  Leiter  refused  to  talk.  On 
the  next  day,  however,  representatives  of  the 
press  were  called  in,  and  to  each  of  them  a 
printed  announcement  was  handed.  This 
simply  stated  that  the  copartnership  previ- 


Levi  Z.  Leiter 

From    one    of    the    concern's    advertisements 
of    the   period. 


ously  existing  had  been  dissolved  by  mutual 
consent  and  agreement.  L.  Z.  Leiter,  it  fur- 
ther showed,  had  retired  from  the  firm  and  the 


50 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


business  would  be  continued  by  the  remaining 
partners,  the  names  of  whom  were  given  in 
the  announcement.  These  were:  Marshall 
Field,  Lorenzo  G.  Woodhouse,  Henry  J.  Will- 
ing, Harlow  N.  Higinbotham,  Joseph  N.  Field 
and  Henry  Field.  The  two  last  named  were 
brothers  of  Marshall  Field. 

The  announcement  further  showed  that 
the  name  of  the  firm  had  been  changed  to  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  No  statement  was  issued  by 
either  partner  in  regard  to  the  consideration 
paid  for  Mr.  Leiter's  interest  in  the  firm. 


Thus,  twenty-five  years  after  he  had 
started  in  as  a  salesman  with  Cooley,  Wads- 
worth  &  Co.,  Marshall  Field  had  become  the 
undisputed  leader  in  the  great  enterprise  in 
whose  upbuilding  he  had  played  so  prominent 
and  effective  a  part.  His  entire  career  in 
Chicago,  to  his  death  in  1906,  covered  just  fifty 
years,  and  during  the  half  of  that  period  re- 
maining in  1881  the  forward  strides  made  by 
the  Field  organization  were  to  be  even  greater 
and  more  noteworthy  than  those  it  had  mad»s 
during  its  first  quarter  century. 


'■K 


■^fij. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  RETAIL  BUSINESS  IN  THE  EARLY  '90's 


THE  withdrawal  of  Mr.  Leiter  gave  to  do  so  he  pursued  his  established  method  of 

Marshall  Field  a  freer  hand  than  he  watching  the  progress  of  his  employees  and 

had  previously   enjoyed.     At  no  time,  encouraging  them  to  put  forth  their  best  ef- 

however,  did  he  permit  the  Field  organization  forts. 


first  annex,  of  Marshall  Field  &■  Co.'s  retail  store. 
This  building  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Washington  Street  and  Wabash  Ave- 
nue, was  erected  in   1893  and  forms  fart   of  the  present  great   establishment. 
It  is  known  as  the  South   Wabash  Building. 


to  become  what  is  frequently  spoken  of  as  a 
"one-man"  business.  He  continued  to  lay 
down  and  develop  the  broader  policies  and 
principles  of  the  house,  and  as  far  as  the 
growth  of  the  business  would  permit  him  to 


All  members  of  the  personnel  were  encour- 
aged to  put  their  brains  and  their  abilities  to 
the  best  use,  in  their  own  behalf  as  well  as  in 
that  of  the  concern.  But  the  carrying  out  of 
his  plans  Mr.  Field  entrusted  in  the  largest 


51 


52 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


possible  degree  to  the  men  on  whom  he  had 
placed  great  responsibility  and  on  whose  initi- 
ative, energy  and  wisdom,  he  felt,  full  reliance 
could  be  placed  under  any  and  all  conditions. 

Among  the  men  whom  the  firm  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  thus  developed  was  H.  Gordon 
Selfridge,  who  entered  the  domestics  section 
of  the  wholesale  in  1878.  He  made  rapid 
progress  and  shortly  afterward  became  a  gen- 
eral salesman  with  Indiana  as  his  territory. 

His  work  attracted  the  attention  of  Mar- 
shall Field,  who  suggested  that  young  Self- 
ridge transfer  his  services  to  the  retail  store. 
To  this  Selfridge  acceded.    For  some  time  he 
worked  in  a  department  as  a  salesman.    Later 
he  became  the  head  of  a  merchandise  depart- 
ment.    His  further  progress  led  him  to  the 
post  of  assistant  manager  of  the  retail  divi- 
sion. 
/        In  the  course  of  his  employment  in  the  re- 
tail Selfridge  had  made  a  careful  study  of  the 
management  of  employees  as  well  as  of  Mr. 
Field's  system  for  keeping  track  of  the  activi- 
j     ties  and  progress  of  each  worker.    On  becom- 
\     ing  assistant   manager  he   further   developed 
\   the  system  and  increased  its  efficiency. 

His  understanding  of  the  store  personnel 
and  his  growing  acquaintance  with  retail  mer- 
chandising methods  in  general  were  further 
rewarded  by  the  extension  of  his  duties  as 
assistant  manager.  In  1887  a  vacancy  occurred 
which  resulted  in  Mr.  Selfridge  being  ap- 
I  Dointed  general  manager  of  the  retail  store. 
This  position  he  held  until  1904,  when  the 
opportunity  came  to  Mr.  Selfridge  to  purchase 
one  of  the  large  department  stores  which  had 
grown  up  in  Chicago.  He,  therefore,  severed 
his  connection  with  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  The 
fact  that  he  was  financially  able  to  enter  into 
a  transaction  of  such  magnitude  is  proof  of 
the  opportunities  for  becoming  wealthy  which 
presented  themselves  to  men  who  were  able 
successfully  to  fill  big  positions  in  the  Field 
organization. 

Subsequently,  Mr.  Selfridge  sold  this  busi- 
ness and  removed  to  London,  England,  where 
he  erected  a  large  building  and  founded 
the  retail  business  of  Selfridge  &  Co.,  Ltd., 


which  has  since  grown  to  large  proportions. 

During  the  '80's  Mr.  Shedd,  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Selfridge,  made  a  Euro- 
pean trip  during  which  they  studied  mer- 
chandising methods  in  Great  Britain  and 
on  the  Continent.  Mr.  Shedd  was  at  that 
time  thirty-five  years  of  age;  Mr.  Selfridge 
was  twenty-seven.  Much  of  the  young  men's 
time  was  spent  in  the  Magasins  du  Louvre 
and  in  the  Bon  Marche,  then  as  now  among 
the  principal  department  stores  in  Paris. 

They  returned  to  Chicago  with  new  ideas 
and  broader  views  as  to  merchandising  and 
with  a  full  determination  to  embody  in  the 
Marshall  Field  business  the  best  methods 
which  had  come  under  their  observation  in 
Europe. 

During  the  last  few  years  there  had  come 
about  a  marked  change  in  the  society  life 
of  the  city.  Many  of  the  men  who  had  set- 
tled in  Chicago  twenty  or  thirty  years  be- 
fore had  become  wealthy,  and  their  sons 
and  daughters  had  acquired  tastes  and  de- 
sires which  were  'the  natural  accompani- 
ments of  the  greater  financial  ease  as  well 
as  of  the  Western  freedom  amid  which  they 
had  been  reared. 

There  had  thus  grown  up  an  element  of 
wealth  and  in  a  certain  degree  of  leisure. 
The  different  strata  of  society,  though  far  less 
well  defined  than  at  present,  were  still  marked 
off  in  a  certain  degree,  according  to  the  tastes 
of  families  or  individuals  and  their  ability  to 
gratify  them. 

Thus  the  opportunity  was  given  to  reach 
out  for  what  is  often  described  as  the  "high- 
class"  or  even  for  the  "ultra"  trade.  In  tak- 
ing advantage  of  this  opportunity,  the  leader- 
ship which  Mr.  Field  had  won  in  Chicago  so- 
ciety circles  proved  an  important  asset.  Many 
of  the  wealthier  customers,  too,  were  per- 
sonally acquainted  with  the  then  manager  of 
the  retail  store  as  well  as  with  Mr.  Field. 

In  the  matter  of  equipment  and  service, 
too,  the  store  was  in  a  position  to  satisfy  the 
most  exacting  customer  of  those  days,  al- 
though in  comparison  with  the  Field  store 
of   to-day  the    establishment    was    small    and 


The  Retail  Business  in  the  Early  '90' s 


53 


ill  supplied  with  conveniences  for  the  public. 
The  building  itself — which,  as  already 
stated,  had  been  erected  after  the  fire  of  1877 
had  destroyed  the  former  Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 
store  previously  standing  on  the  same  site — 
measured  160  by  150  ft.  and  consisted  of  six 
floors  and  basement,  the  total  area  being  but 


Che  northeast  corner  of  State  and  Washing- 
ton Streets — the  firm  had  begun  to  make  two 
deliveries  of  packages  per  day.  The  original 
equipment  for  this  purpose  consisted  of 
three  wagons,  and  the  area  covered  by  the 
store's  delivery  section  at  that  time  was 
eight  square  miles,  this  including  the  city's 


The  State  Street  front  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  retail  store  in  1903. 

Showing  the  n^w  building  on  the  northern  part  of  the  block  and   the   building   on   the    Washington   Street  corner  as 

remodeled  in    1898. 


144,000  sq.  ft.  The  employees  numbered  about 
600.  In  the  years  which  had  passed  since  the 
erection  and  equipment  of  the  building  few 
changes  had  been  made. 

The  basement,  as  was  the  custom  in  those 
days,  was  used  for  storage  purposes  and 
for  engine-room,  boilers  and  other  appli- 
ances. There  were  two  elevators,  but,  like 
others  of  their  day,  these  were  slow  in  op- 
eration. 

Long  years  previously — in  fact,  shortly 
after  the  removal  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  to 


best  residential  districts.     In  1871  ten  wag- 
ons and  thirty  horses  were  employed. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  there  was  a 
brief  period  during  which  all  purchases  at 
the  Field-Leiter  store  were  delivered  by  ox- 
drawn  wagons.  This  was  in  1873,  during 
an  epidemic  which  caused  the  authorities  to 
quarantine  all  the  horses  in  Chicago.  In 
order  that  their  service  to  the  public  might 
be  continued,  the  firm  purchased  twenty  oxen, 
and  as  long  as  the  quarantine  lasted  these 
slow  but  reliable  animals  drew  the  store's  de- 


54 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


livery  wagons  from  one  part  of  the  city  to 
another. 

Naturally,  in  succeeding  years  the  de- 
livery, as  well  as  other  service  sections,  have 
expanded  with  the  growth  of  the  concern.  In 
the  80's,  however,  methods  were  crude  com- 
pared with  those  of  to-day.  Even  most  pro- 
gressive stores  had  no  display  windows,  and 
the  Field  store  was  no  exception,  except  that, 
as  far  as  can  be  learned  from  employees  of 
long  standing,  there  was  about  that  time  one 
little  show  window  in  the  State  Street  front. 

The  advertising,  too,  was  on  a  plane  far 
below  that  which  has  since  become  the  rule. 
In  the  introduction  of  art  and  refinement 
into  both  of  these  phases  of  retail  store  pub- 
licity Marshall  Field  &  Co.  played  an  orig- 
inating and  a  prominent  part.  Gradually 
there  were  brought  about  those  changes 
which  have  caused  the  Field  store  to  be  re- 
garded the  world  over  as  a  leader  in  mer- 
chandising, in  the  development  of  able  em- 
ployees, in  marvelous  displays  in  windows 
and  within  the  store,  and  in  publicity  of  all 
kinds,  newspapers,  booklets  or  whatever. 

The  character  of  the  store  personnel, 
however,  was  high.  The  reputation  of  the 
firm  and  of  its  establishment  had  caused 
Field's  10  be  generally  regarded  as  a  mighty 
good  place  wherein  to  be  employed.  Intelli- 
gent efforts  were  constantly  being  adopted 
for  creating  among  the  employees  a  keen 
interest  in  the  business. 

For  example,  a  rule  was  put  in  force  to 
the  effect  that  any  employee  who  brought 
to  the  manager's  office  an  idea  of  practical 
ralue  would  not  only  be  thanked  for  it  but 
would  also  receive  a  pecuniary  reward.  At 
the  same  time  this  -policy  of  seeking  sugges- 
tions and  recognizing  in  a  practical  way  the 
value  of  those  which  lent  themselves  to 
adoption  was  extended  to  the  wholesale 
branch  of  the  Field  organization. 

In  1890  show  windows  were  installed, 
thus  increasing  the  effectiveness  of  the  con- 
cern's appeal  to  its  public.  The  need  for 
additional  facilities!  had  also  become  appar- 
ent and  in  the  same  year  the  firm  acquired 


buildings  adjoining  their  store  on  the  north, 
with  a  State  Street  frontage  of  100  ft.  These 
buildings  were  immediately  added  to  the  firm's 
facilities. 

In  1893  the  firm  erected  for  its  occupancy 
its  first  annex,  at  the  northwest  corner  of 
Washington  Street  and  Wabash  Avenue.  At 
the  time  of  its  completion  this  building  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  finest  ever  erected 
and  equipped  for  retail  purposes.  The  fore- 
sight of  Marshall  Field  and  his  associates 
and  the  progressive  way  in  which  they  went 
about  all  of  their  enterprises  is  attested  by 
the  fact  that  this  building,  nine  stories  in 
height,  still  forms  a  part  of  the  present  main 
store  premises.  At  first,  the  four  lower 
floors  and  basement  were  devoted  to  selling 
purposes,  the  fifth  and  sixth  were  occupied 
by  the  Crerar  Library,  and  the  three  top- 
most floors  were  leased  to  tenants  for  office 
purposes. 

In  1898,  the  building  on  the  northeast  cor- 
ner of  State  and  Washington  Streets — that 
which  had  been  built  by  the  Singer  Co.  in 
1877  and  acquired  by  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  in 
1878 — was  remodeled.  The  sixth,  or  mansard 
roof  floor  was  removed  and  reconstructed  and 
two  additional  floors  built,  thus  making  the 
building  eight  stories  in  height. 

While  this  progress  was  being  made  John 
G.  Shedd  not  only  continued  his  active  work 
and  practical  counsels  in  connection  with 
the  wholesale  business  but  established  for 
himself  a  closer  connection  with  the  retail 
branch  of  the  business. 

Merchandise  section  heads  were  glad 
to  consult  with  him  in  regard  to  the  pur- 
chase and  handling  of  merchandise.  These 
section  managers  were  impressed  with 
Mr.  Shedd's  insistence  that  all  goods  car- 
ried should  be  of  the  best  possible  quality 
for  the  price  and  joined  with  him  in  con- 
demning the  policy  of  making  price  the  prin- 
cipal appeal  or  argument  in  the  sale  of 
goods. 

Thus  it  was  that  seven  years  after  being 
made  a  partner  Mr.  Shedd  had  become  prac- 
tically the  manager  of  the  entire  business. 


The  Retail  Business  in  the  Early  '90's 


55 


retail  as  well  as  wholesale,  all  matters  of 
moment,  except  those  of  the  most  vital  char- 
acter, being  referred  to  him  for  decision. 

It  was  quite  in  the  course  of  events  then 
that  when  the  firm  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
was  incorporated,  in  1901,  Mr.  Shedd  was 
chosen  as  vice-president,  Marshall  Field,  of 
course,  being  president. 

The  attention  devoted  by  Mr.  Shedd  to 
the  retail  branch  of  the  business  covered 
not  only  its  merchandising  policies  but  also 
its  physical  condition  and  requirements.  It 
was  his  ambition  that  the  retail  establishment 
of  Mai-shall  Field  &  Co.  should  one  day  cover 


the  entire  block  fronting  on  State,  Washing- 
ton, Wabash  and  Randolph,  and  that  this 
building  should  be  uniform  in  appearance  and 
equipment.  And  in  the  planning  and  direct- 
ing of  the  subsequent  building  operations  he 
played  the  leading  role. 

In  1902  the  old  buildings  on  State  Street, 
north  of  the  structure  on  the  corner  of  Wash- 
ington Street  which  had  been  remodeled  in 
1898,  were  torn  down  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  State  Street  front  as  it  now  stands  was 
built.  This  gave  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  retail, 
a  frontage  of  an  entire  block  on  State  Street 
— from  Washington  to  Randolph. 


CHAPTER  IX 


JOHN  G.  SHEDD  SUCCEEDS  TO  THE  PRESIDENCY 


SHORTLY  after  the  celebration  of  his  sev- 
enty-first birthday  Mr.  Field  was  at- 
tacked by  a  cold,  which  developed  into 
congestion  of  the  lungs  and  finally  into  pneu- 
monia. He  was  at  that  time  on  a  visit  to  New 
York.  Nurses  and  doctors  were  promptly 
summoned  and  for 
some  days  hopes  of 
his  recovery  were  en- 
tertained. Despite 
the  best  medical  skill, 
however,  the  fatal 
progress  of  the  dis- 
ease could  not  be 
stayed,  and  on  Jan. 
16,  1906,  the  great 
dry  goods  merchant, 
universally  regarded 
as  the  greatest  in  this 
country,  passed  into 
the  beyond. 

The  accidental 
death  of  his  son,  Mar- 
shall Field,  Jr.,  dur- 
ing the  previous  No- 
vember, it  was  be- 
lieved had  a  good  deal 
to  do  with  the  weak- 
ening of  his  remark- 
ably strong  constitu- 
tion. 

Many  of  the  traits 
which  made  Marshall 
Field  a  great  man  as 
well  as  a  master  merchant  have  been  touched 
on  in  previous  chapters.  It  is  fitting  here, 
however,  to  dwell  for  a  moment  on  certain 
other  facts  which  indicate  the  generosity,  the 
breadth  and  the  uprightness  of  the  man. 
Reference  has  been  made  to  his  establishment 
and  endowment  of  the  Field  Museum  in  Chi- 
cago. After  his  death  his  will  was  found  to 
include  a  bequest  of  $8,000,000  to  that  institu- 


R*^^ 

■ 

^^^^^^^0^^''  -^'^^^^HP^'l"             ^^1 

^M 

H 

kM 

1 

^K^uV 

m 

^^^^^^^^■k  mj  ^H 

k  1 

^^■^ 

m} 

Marshall  Field  in  his  seventieth  year. 


tion,  thus  providing  for  a  marked  extension 
of  the  museum's  activities  and  of  its  value  to 
the  people  of  Chicago. 

His  uprightness  was  manifested  in  his  ab- 
solute distaste  for  dealing  with  anyone  whose 
reputation  was  not  of  the  best.  On  one  occa- 
sion this  unwilling- 
ness to  treat  with  a 
man  whom  he  consid- 
ered unworthy  pre- 
vented his  purchase 
of  a  piece  of  real 
estate  which  he  ear- 
nestly desired  to  ac- 
quire and  caused  him 
finally  to  pay  a  good 
deal  more  money  for 
that  same  piece  of 
property  than  that 
for  which  he  could 
have  obtained  it  in 
the  first  instance  had 
he  been  willing  to 
sacrifice  his  prin- 
ciples. 

It  is  related  of  Mr. 
Field     also     that     he 
turned  down  "cold"  a 
proposition  that  bade 
fair  to  prove  exceed- 
ingly    lucrative     be- 
cause  as   laid    before 
him    it    involved    the 
giving  of  bribes. 
The  methods  by  which  Mr.  Field  attained 
his   wonderful   success,   financial   and   other- 
,  wise,  are  given  in  his  own  words  as  follows : 

•He  never  gives  a  note;  he  never  buys  a  share 
of  stock  on  marg:in;  he  is  against  speculation;  he 
is  no  borrower;  he  has  made  it  a  point  not  to 
encumber  his  business  with  mortgages;  he  does 
business  on  a  cash  basis;  he  tries  to  sell  on 
shorter  time  than  his  competitors ;  he  tries  to  sell 
the  same  grade  of  goods  for  a  smaller  price; 
he  holds  his  customers  to  a  strict  meeting  of  their 
obligations. 


56 


John  G.  Shedd  Succeeds  to  the  Presidency 


57 


The  foregoing  list  of  rules  was  enunciated 
by  Mr.  Field  several  years  before  his  death 
and,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  he  never 
issued  any  revision  of  them.  It  is  known  that 
even  in  the  development  of  his  business  he 
adhered  closely  to  the  rule  of  never  borrow- 
ing money. 

In  the  enforcement  of  contracts  he  was  un- 
/  yielding  even  to  relentlessness,  yet  he  was 
held  in  high  esteem  by  the  thousands  of  mer- 
chants who  were  the  customers  of  his  house. 
By  strict  adherence  to  his  policies  he  did 
much  to  prevent  failures  among  the  retailers 
who  were  his  customers  and  his  methods  went 
far  to  the  bettering  of  the  country's  financial 
tone. 

Not  only  in  Chicago  but  in  other  centers 
the  demise  of  Marshall  Field  elicited  numer- 
ous expressions  from  associations  of  business 
men,  as  well  as  from  corporations,  firms  and 
individuals.  Resolutions  expressive  of  ad- 
miration for  the  character  of  Mr.  Field  were 
adopted  by  the  National  Wholesale  Dry  Goods 
Association,  whose  annual  convention  was  be- 
ing held  in  New  York  at  the  time  of  his  de- 
mise. The  board  of  directors  of  the  Mer- 
chants Club  of  New  York  held  a  meeting  and 
appointed  a  committee  to  take  appropriate  ac- 
tion. During  the  hours  of  Mr.  Field's  funeral 
a  large  number  of  the  New  York  wholesale 
houses  closed  their  doors  as  a  mark  of  re- 
spect for  Mr.  Field's  memory. 

In  summing  up  Marshall  Field's  character 
and  accomplishments  the  Dry  Goods  Econo- 
mist said,  in  part,  (5n  its  editorial  page  of 
Jan.  20,  1906: 

Mr.  Field's  career  affords  an  example  which 
will  long  be  cited  as  an  incentive  to  ambition  and 
an  encouragement  to  perseverance.  As  a  youth  he 
had  no  special  advantages;  persistent  effort,  di- 
rected by  intelligence,  laid  the  foundation  of  his 
remarkable  success.  His  business  ideals  were  of 
the  highest;  of  him  it  may  truly  be  said,  in  Emer- 
son's words,  that  he  hitched  his  wagon  to  a  star. 
He  made  his  large  fortune  by  the  legitimate 
methods  which  in  these  latter  days  have,  in  too 
many  quarters,  come  to  be  regarded  as  old-fash- 
ioned. His  money  bore  no  taint.  His  progress 
helped  thousands  and  injured  none.  The  vast 
mercantile  establishment  he  built  up  not  only  en- 
riched many  and  provided  hundreds  with  the 
means  of  livelihood,  but  it  contributed  to  the  suc- 
cess of  merchants  throughout  the  country.     His 


influence  and  energy  were  felt  in  towns  and  cities 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  miles  away  from  the 
scene  of  his  immediate  activities. 

He  showed  merchants  everywhere  how  busi- 
ness ought  to  be  conducted.  He  made  clear  the 
fact  that  the  sordid  side  is  but  one  out  of  the 
great  number  of  faces  into  which  modern  mer- 
chandising has  been  shaped,  and,  putting  that  side 
into  the  background,  he  brought  clearly  into  view 
the  bright,  the  attractive  and  the  fascinating  fea- 
tures of  a  business  career.  He  not  only  made  two 
blades  of  grass  grow  where  one  grew  before,  but 
the  meadow  was  the  fresher,  the  fairer  and  the 
more  flower-bedecked  for  his  presence  and  his 
labor.    .     .     . 

After  all,  perhaps  he  will  be  best  remem- 
bered for  the  men  whom  he  attracted  to  him- 
self and  whose  abilities,  so  promptly  recognized 
by  his  keen  intellect,  contributed  to  the  success 
of  his  great  enterprise.  Some  of  these  have  with- 
drawn to  the  enjoyment  of  the  large  store  of  this 
world's  goods  which  he  helped  them  to  accumu- 
late; but  others  remain  to  aid  in  perpetuating 
the  splendid  establishment  which,  as  we  have  al- 
ready suggested,  is  his  best  and  most  enduring 
monument. 

ON  the  death  of  Marshall  Field,  John  G. 
Shedd  was  the  logical  man  for  president 
of  the  firm.  To  him  all  those  interested,  in- 
cluding Mr.  Field's  executors  and  the  trus- 
tees of  his  estate,  naturally  turned.  Early  in 
1906,  therefore,  Mr.  Shedd  was  raised  to  the 
presidency  of  the  firm. 

To  Stanley  Field,  a  nephew  of  Marshall 
Field,  was  given  the  vice-presidency.  As 
second  vice-president  there  was  chosen  a  young 
man  who,  under  the  eye  of  Mr.  Field,  had  ac- 
quired knowledge  that  especially  fitted  him  for 
that  important  position. 

This  was  James  Simpson,  who  had  been 
with  the  firm  for  many  years  and  had  had  ex- 
ceptional opportunities  for  acquiring  a  knowl- 
edge of  merchandise,  of  finance  and  of  the 
principles  on  which  the  Field  organization  was 
conducted.  Coming  in  contact  as  he  did  with 
many  of  Mr.  Field's  personal  affairs,  Mr.  Simp- 
son was  brought  in  contact  with  prominent 
financiers  and  captains  of  industry  in  Chicago 
and  other  centers.  Thus  he  had  acquired  broad 
views  and  a  clear  understanding  of  important 
problems.  He  had  also  evinced  foresight,  ini- 
tiative and  ability  to  control  and  direct  others 
in  a  degree  approximating  that  in  which  those 
qualities  were  possessed  by  Marshall  Field 
himself. 

It  has  indeed  been  said  of  Mr.  Simpson 


58 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


by  men  who  were  well  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Field  as  well  as  with  himself  that  in  most 
things  Mr.  Simpson  had  at  that  time  the  Field 
point  of  view  in  a  greater  degree  perhaps  than 
any  other  man  in  the  organization.  This 
was  attributed,  of  course,  to  his  daily  and 
hourly  association  with  Mr.  Field. 

Another  of  Mr.  Simpson's  qualifications  at 
the  time  of  his  being  elected  second  vice-pres- 


(This  was  only  a  few  thousand  square  feet 
less  than  the  entire  floor  area  of  the  store  in 
1889.) 

As  stated  in  Chapter  VII,  the  State  and 
Washington  Street  building  had  been  re- 
modeled and  its  height  had  been  increased 
from  six  stories  to  eight.  In  1893  the  nine- 
story  annex — which  still  stands  at  the  north- 
east corner  of  Washington  Street  and  Wabash 


The  State  Street  front  as  completed  m  1907. 

Showing  the  frontages  on   that  thoroughfare  and    Washington    Street    as    they    are    today, 

Washington   Street  is  the   annex  erected  in   1893. 


The   further    building    on 


ident  was  enthusiastic  faith  in  the  future  of 
Chicago,  a  faith  which  has  broadened  and 
deepened  as  the  years  have  gone  by. 

We  shall  hear  of  Mr.  Simpson  further  on 
in  this  narrative,  for  he  has  become  one  of 
the  most  prominent  and  influential  men  not 
only  in  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  organization 
but  also  in  the  affairs  of  his  city. 

WHEN    Mr.   Shedd   became  president   of 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  the  area  of  the  re- 
tail store .  per  floor  was   132,000  square  feet. 


Avenue  and  is  part  of  the  present  retail 
premises — had  been  completed  and  added  to 
the  store.  And  in  1902  the  two  twelve-story 
buildings,  with  basement  and  sub-basement, 
extending  from  the  old  State  and  Washington 
Street  building  along  State  Street  to  Randolph 
Street  and  fronting  also  on  the  latter  thor- 
oughfare were  added. 

Not  only  this,  but  in  1905  the  firm  had 
started  the  erection  of  a  large  addition  on 
Wabash  Avenue,  adjoining  the  nine-story  an- 
nex completed  in  1893.    It  is  noteworthy  that 


John  G.  Shedd  Succeeds  to  the  Presidency 


59 


when  the  style  of  architecture  of  this  new 
building,  now  known  as  the  Middle  Wabash 
Building,  was  being  discussed  some  of  the 
men  close  to  Mr.  Field  favored  a  plain  brick 
front,  while  others  declared  their  opinion  that 
the  building  ought  to  match  the  structure 
which  it  was  to  adjoin. 

The  matter  was  settled  in  Mr.  Field's  mind 
by  the  arguments  of  Mr.  Shedd,  who  urged 
that  the  new  building  should  match  the  new 
State  Street  buildings  in  every  way.  This 
was  a  proof  that  even  in  that  year  Mr.  Shedd 
had  before  his  mind  the  solid  block  of  uni- 
form character  (with  the  exception  of  the 
South  Wabash  Building)  as  it  exists  at  this 
day. 

On  the  death  of  Mr.  Field,  however,  there 
arose  a  hitch  in  the  building  program,  the 
trustees  showing  hesitancy  to  proceed  with 
the  work.  Mr.  Shedd  was  able  to  straighten 
out  the  difficulty  largely  by  means  of  a  cable- 
gram which  he  had  received  from  Mr.  Field 
during  the  latter's  last  visit  abroad. 

This  cablegram  had  to  do  with  the  Middle 
Wabash  Avenue  Building  only  by  inference. 
It  dealt  directly  with  an  even  weightier  prop- 
osition, viz.,  the  replacing  of  the  old  building 
on  the  southwest  corner  of  State  and  Wash- 
ington— the  one  which  had  been  put  up  after 
the  fire  of  1877  and  occupied  by  Field,  Leiter 
&  Co.  a  year  or  two  later.  The  result  was 
that  both  of  the  new  additions  were  erected. 

The  State  and  Washington  Street  struc- 
ture, matching  the  buildings  already  put  up 
toward  the  north  and  known  as  the  South 
State  Building,  was  completed  during  1907 
and  occupied  in  December  of  that  year. 

Needless  to  say,  along  with  the  increase 
of  space  there  had  been  carried  on  important 
changes  in  the  general  equipment  of  the  sev- 
eral buildings. 

Swift  elevators  had  replaced  the  two  slow 
cars  of  earlier  years,  and  with  the  increase 
of  floor  space  the  number  of  elevators  had 
been  increased  proportionately.  The  dis- 
play window  space  had  been  greatly  aug- 
mented by  the  new  building  on  State  Street, 
as  well  as  by  the  annex  above  mentioned — 


now  known   as  the   South  Wabash   Building. 

In  1893  tea  rooms  had  been  installed.  These 
had  a  floor  area  of  82,000  sq.  ft.,  and  daily  some 
2500  guests  were  served.  Rather  tight  quar- 
ters, apparently,  but  in  those  days  people  did 
not  look  for  the  space  and  freedom  of  move- 
ment that  in  the  modern  high-class  restaurant 
are  deemed  essential.  There  had  also  been 
provided  a  rest-room  for  customers,  with  writ- 
ing desks,  stationery  and  other  conveniences. 
An  innovation  in  the  department  store  of  that 
time  and,  therefore,  peculiar  to  Field's  was 
a  comfortable  rest-room  for  men. 

For  the  employees  there  were  rest-rooms, 
a  library  and  an  emergency  hospital. 

There  had  also  been  a  marked  expansion 
of  the  wholesale  business  and  its  organization. 
That,  however,  must  be  dealt  with  later  in 
the  story.  The  wholesale  business  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  is  a  fascinating  subject  and  one 
that  requires  a  chapter  all  to  itself  to  be 
properly  told. 

In  directing  the  construction  of  the  South 
State  Street  Building  Mr.  Shedd  was  insistent 
on  having  it  different  from  other  large  stores. 
To  this  end  he  caused  to  be  installed  within 
the  light  well  or  rotunda  two  extraordinarily 
beautiful  and  costly  domes  of  Tiffany  art 
glass,  one  at  the  roof  and  the  other  between 
the  sixth  and  seventh  floors.  The  lower  of 
these  domes  is  the  largest  piece  of  iridescent 
glass  mosaic  work  extant,  and  is  a  constant 
source  of  admiration  to  thousands  of  visitors 
to  the  world's  greatest  retail  store,  exceeding 
in  its  iridescent  radiance  the  famous  Taj 
Mahal  in  India. 

The  upper  dome,  being  at  the  roof,  is 
illuminated  by  natural  light.  The  lower  dome 
sparkles  with  brilliant  illumination  and  has  all 
the  appearance  of  reflecting  and  diffusing  the 
sun's  rays.  The  lighting  is  furnished,  how- 
ever, by  electric  lamps  placed  so  as  to  bring 
out  the  beautiful  iridescent  oriental  glow. 
The  upper  dome  makes  a  canopy  or  ceiling  of 
sparkling  and  vari-colored  beauty  overhang- 
ing a  beautiful  fountain  which  adds  a  won- 
drous charm  to  that  deservedly  popular  por- 
tion of  the  many  tea  rooms. 


CHAPTER  X 
NEW  MARKS  SET  IN  RETAILING 


AMONG  the  noteworthy  features  of  the 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  store  is  the  large 
number  of  special  rooms  for  the  show- 
ing   and    sale    of    merchandise.      When    Mr. 


which  it  is  offered  to  the  public.  He  saw,  too, 
that  if  the  higher  grade  goods  were  given  an 
air  of  privacy  and  of  specialization  they  would 
appeal  more  strongly  to  people  of  wealth  and 


The  palatial  appearance  of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  retail  store 
and  the  sumptuous  character  of  the  decorations  frequently  installed  are 
illustrated  in  this  view  of  a  portion  of  the  main  floor. 


Shedd  was  directing  the  erection  and  equip- 
ment of  the  additions  to  the  store  in  1906,  as 
told  in  the  last  chapter,  he  realized  that  the 
attractiveness  of  merchandise  is  in  a  great  de- 
gree dependent    on    the    surroundings    amid 


refinement  and,  furthermore,  that  such  cus- 
tomers would  appreciate  the  privilege  of  be- 
ing able  to  make  their  selections  undisturbed 
by  the  passing  throng. 

He,  therefore,  caused  to  be  constructed  in 


60 


ISew  Marks  Set  in  Retailing 


61 


various  parts  of  the  store  rooms  of  a  decora- 
tive character,  yet  in  the  best  possible  taste, 
each  of  these  rooms  being  devoted  to  goods  of 
a  certain  kind. 

And  inasmuch  as  France — more  perhaps 
at  that  time  than  in  the  present  day — was  the 
source  from  which  came  the  most  exclusive 
merchandise,  an  air  of  la  belle  France  was 
given  to  each  of  the  rooms,  and  they  were 
known  familiarly  (and  still  are),  as  French 
rooms. 


how  tables  and  chairs,  and  buffets  and  dressers 
will  look  in  living-room,  dining-room,  chamber 
or  whatever.  There  are  rooms  where  fine 
china  and  glassware  can  be  inspected  amid 
their  natural  surroundings  of  fine  napery  and 
silverware  and  floral  decorations. 

These  rooms  are  richly  carpeted.  Their 
walls  are  in  tasteful,  subdued  colors,  and  are 
further  adorned  with  electric  light  brackets 
+hat  are  both  useful  and  ornamental;  or  a 
crystal  or   brass  chandelier  hangs  overhead. 


The  rounded  corner  counter  with  hollow-curved  molding  designed  by  Mr.  Shedd. 


There  is,  therefore,  a  room  for  imported 
lingeries,  another  for  the  finest  examples  of 
needlework  in  infants'  wear.  There  is  the 
Louis  Quatorze  Salon,  in  which  fine  gowns  are 
exhibited.  There  is  the  Salon  des  Debutantes, 
the  nature  of  the  merchandise  shown  therein 
being  apparent  from  the  name.  There  «re 
rooms  wherein  fine  fancy  linens  are  shown 
just  as  they  would  look  in  a  well-ordered  home. 
On  the  furniture  floor  there  are  rooms  which 
enable  the  prospective  purchaser  to  see  just 


The  furniture  with  which  they  are  equipped 
is,  of  course,  in  keeping. 

One  of  the  rooms  in  which  exquisite  table 
linens  are  displayed  has  the  walls  paneled  in 
rich  wood  to  the  ceiling  as  in  an  English  man- 
sion of  the  Elizabethan  or  Stuart  period.  A 
fireplace,  draperies,  chairs  and  other  furni- 
ture, besides  the  dining  and  serving  tables, 
carry  out  the  period  idea.  And,  needless  to 
say,  the  handsome  rug  on  the  floor  is  of  ap- 
propriate pattern.    From  the  ceiling  hang  two 


62 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


chandeliers  with  electric  lights  in  candle  effect. 

The   room    in   which    French    lingerie   is 

shown  is  hung  with  tan  taffeta  draperies  that 

harmonize  with  the  blue  floor  covering  and  the 


try,   and  there  are  on   exhibition  the  finest 
potteries  of  the  old  world  and  of  the  new. 

In  the  dress  department  there  is  a  room  so 
spacious    that    its    furnishings    include    two 


MHBi^i''  f-^  -  . .  -  :i  ^^Wt^ 

^^kV^^H                  ''"tH^^^^K  ■^^^■^■^^^^■lju^^ 

In  tne  extent  of  its  floor  area  and  the  richness  of  its  fittings  ana  furnishings  this  room  m  the  dress 

department  is  characteristic  of  the  retail  store  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 


boudoir  furniture,  which  is  in  a  delicate  ivory 
tint.  For  the  selection  of  mourning  apparei 
there  is  a  secluded  salon  with  woodwork  and 
furniture  in  gray  enamel  and  with  hangings 
in  a  wistaria  tone. 

The  diversity  of  the  sources  from  which 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  draw  their  supplies  of 
merchandise  is  indicated  in  a  room  wherein 
are  represented  Japan,  China,  India  and  Korea. 
Rich  gold-threaded  embroideries,  antique 
bronzes  and  brasses  are  among  the  art  objects 
on  display  in  this  interesting  section.  There 
is  also  a  room  furnished  and  decorated  in 
Louis  XV  style.  The  appurtenances  include 
a  massive  gold  candelabrum  and  a  rich  tapes- 


tables  almost  as  large  as  those  one  finds  in  a 
directors'  room.  This  room  is  richly  carpeted. 
The  rear  wall  is  formed  of  mahogany  panels; 
the  front  is  formed  by  showcases.  These  are 
lighted  by  lamps  set  in  trough  reflectors  above 
and  below.  These  showcases  have  plate  glass 
fronts,  while  the  backs  (which  form  the  front 
wall  of  the  room)  are  in  sash  effect  with 
medium-sized  panes. 

At  one  end  of  the  room  is  a  small  stage 
with  semicircular  front.  On  this  stage,  at  the 
time  of  our  visit,  there  was  a  table,  on  which 
was  a  vase  of  beautiful  flowers.  There  were 
also  on  the  stage  two  sumptuous  armchairs  of 
Louis  XIV  design.     Equally  comfortable  arm- 


New  Marks  Set  in  Retailing 


63 


chairs  were  placed  at  intervals  in  the  room, 
for  the  use  of  visitors. 

The  other  end  of  the  room  is  formed  by 
two  arches,  and  in  these  were  rich  draperies, 
artistically  looped. 

The  rooms  fitted  up  for  the  display  of  fur- 
niture are  thirty  in  number  and  each  is  a  gem 
in  its  own  perfect  way.  For  the  business  man 
there  is  a  room  fitted  and  furnished  as  an 
office — one  that  a  great  financier  or  captain  of 
industry  would  be  glad  to  call  his  own. 

Yet  these  rooms,  almost  indescribable  as 
they  are  in  their  beauty,  originality  and  re- 
finement, are  but  a  gilding  of  the  lily. 
Throughout  the  store  the  appointments  are  of 
the  most  superb  character,  yet  in  perfect  good 


All  of  the  fixtures,  too,  are  of  a  distinctive 
design  and  character.  Mr.  Shedd  himself  de- 
vised an  important  innovation  and  after  con- 
tinual pleading  and  contending  with  skilled 
woodworkers  finally  got  it  carried  out  and 
put  into  concrete  form.  This  was  the  con- 
struction of  counters  with  rounded  ends  and 
at  the  same  time  with  a  deep  and  wide  hol- 
lowed-out  curve  running  along  their  length 
and  around  the  ends.  This  curve  in  two  di- 
mensions— or  ought  we  to  say  three? — 
was  declared  impossible  of  construction  by  the 
expert  cabinet  mnkers  and  woodworkers.  Mr. 
Shedd  insisted  that  it  was  not  impossible. 
And  to-day  he  can  triumphantly  exclaim,  or 
soliloquize,    as    he    passes   through   the   store. 


One  of  the  several  special  rooms  in  which  high-class  merchandise 
is  shown  amid  appropriate  surroundings. 


taste.  For  example,  the  carpeting  laid  in 
numerous  sections  of  the  store,  if  laid  end  to 
end  in  a  width  of  27  inches,  would  measure  no 
lessjthan  54  miles. 


"They  said  it  couldn't  be  done,  but  here  it  is." 
These  counters  subsequently  became  known 
as  the  O.G.  front  counters. 

Mr.  Shedd  also  gave  his  personal  attention 


64 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


to  the  seJcction  of  the  woods  employed  in  the 
construction  of  counters,  floorcases,  shelving, 
cabinets,  and  other  fixtures.  In  general,  pref- 
erence was  given  to  mahogany.  Considerable 
use  was  also  made,  however,  of  Circassian 
walnut  and  other  kinds  celebrated  for  their 
beautiful  grain.  In  each  case  selection  was 
made  with  the  utmost  care  in  order  that  the 
rarest  effects  in  paneling  and  molding  might 
be  everyTvhere  apparent  in  the  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  store. 

Unique  also  is  the  woodwork  which  holds 
the  mirrors  surrounding  the  pillars  in  certain 
of  the  garment  sections.  At  the  comers  of 
such  pillars  the  woodwork  is  formed  into  a 
hollow  curve  and  from  the  floor  to  the  cornice 
of  the  woodwork  there  runs,  apart  from  the 
main  woodwork,  a  fluted  column  with  a  carved 
capital  which  joins  the  cornice. 

And  then  the  size  and  extent  of  the  various 
sections!  Only  a  dry  goods  or  depart- 
ment store  man  or  woman  perhaps  can  ade- 
quately appreciate  this  characteristic  of  the 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  retail  institution — for 
institution  it  indeed  is.  Taking  them  at  ran- 
dom, where  can  one  see  such  world-famous 
laces,  hosiery,  handkerchiefs,  toilet  goods, 
or — but  it  would  be  useless  to  go  through  the 
list.  The  extent  of  the  store  itself  is  evidence 
of  the  space  which  each  stock  is  accorded. 

Let  it  be  said,  then,  that  the  State  Street 
and  Wabash  Avenue  frontages — the  front  and 
rear,  as  one  might  say,  though  the  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  store  has  no  "back  yard" — mea- 
sure, each  of  them,  385  ft.  On  Washington 
and  Randolph  Streets  alike,  the  measurement 
is  340  ft.  The  total  area  of  floor  space  in 
the  building  bounded  by  the  streets  above 
named  is  1,717,583  sq.  ft.  Admitting  that  not 
all  of  the  floor  space  is  employed  for  selling 
purposes,  it  is  obvious  that  the  size  as  well  as 
the  number  of  each  of  the  merchandise  sec- 
tions is  commensurate  with  the  enormous 
amount  of  space  provided. 

IT  is  essential  for  every  reader  of  this  his- 
tory to  realize  that  the  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  establishment,  extensive  and  marvelous  as 


it  is  to-day,  was  originally  a  small  store  and 
that  in  many  instances  development  on  a  large 
scale  has  come  within  a  comparatively  short 
period. 

Thus,  twenty-three  years  ago  what  is  now 
probably  the  most  extensive  furniture  sec- 
tion in  the  world  consisted  of  one  small  room 
in  which  were  handled  furniture,  upholstery, 
bedding  and  blankets.  The  room  in  question 
had  a  floor  space  of  about  14,000  sq.  ft.  A 
space  of  only  3000  sq.  ft.  was  devoted  to  furni- 
ture. Moreover,  the  furniture  in  question 
was  all  of  antique  character. 

In  1898  greatly  enlarged  space  was  given 
to  antique  and  domestic  furniture.  Since 
that  time  there  has  been  a  gradual  expansion 
of  this  section,  until  it  now  occupies  an 
aggregate  area  considerably  more  than  that 
of  an  entire  city  block. 

The  lengths  to  which  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
go  in  the  effort  to  make  their  store  attractive 
to  the  public  are  exemplified  in  the  fact  that 
throughout  the  furniture  section  the  floor 
is  carpeted.  This  is  true,  indeed,  of  almost 
all  the  selling  sections  throughout  the  firm's 
retail  store. 

The  furniture  section,  as  already  stated, 
includes  no  less  than  thirty  display  rooms,  all 
of  which  are  furnished  in  the  most  complete 
manner,  showing  fully  equipped  dining-rooms, 
living-rooms,  chambers,  etc. 

One  of  the  extensive  divisions  of  the  sec- 
tion is  that  which  is  devoted  to  furniture 
for  outdoor  and  porch  purposes.  To  this 
class  of  furniture  17,000  sq.  ft.  of  floorspace 
are  devoted.  One  of  the  features  of  this  sec- 
tion is  a  sun  parlor  and  porch,  fitted  up  in 
realistic  style. 

There  is  also  a  section  devoted  to  the  sale 
of  furniture  for  children. 

Besides  their  general  retail  business,  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  do  a  large  contract  business 
in  furniture  and  fittings,  with  special  ref- 
erence to  hotels,  clubs,  etc.,  as  well  as  private 
residences. 

On  July  11,  1921,  when  the  hotel  men's 
nation-wide  organization  met  in  Chicago  its 
members  were  entertained  in  a  division  of  the 


New  Marks  Set  in  Retailing 


65 


furniture  section  known,  as  the  Hotel  Bureau 
and  were  there  afforded  an  opportunity  to  see 
full  displays  of  merchandise  suited  to  their 
needs. 

While  due  attention  is  given  to  furniture 
of  modem  production  for  all  purposes — in  the 
home,  the  office,  the  hotel,  etc — antique  fur- 
niture continues  to  be  a  noteworthy  factor  in 
the  section.  In  order  that  such  furniture 
may  be  shown  in  proper  surroundings,  rooms 
that  in  themselves  are  genuine  antiques  are 
provided.  One  of  these  rooms  is  walled  in  the 
wainscoting,  to  use  the  old-fashioned  word,  or 
paneling,  as  we  call  it,  taken  from  an  ancient 
mansion  in  Glasgow,  Scotland.  Another  room 
is  paneled  in  wood  taken  from  an  old  mansion 
in  London.  This  is  known  as  "The  Deal 
Eoom,"  because  of  the  name  given  in  Eng- 
land to  the  kind  of  wood  of  which  the  paneling 
is  composed. 

Equally  antique  in  its  atmosphere,  but  of 
modern  construction,  is  a  room  paneled  in  oak 
and  with  accessories  in  the  style  of  the  period 
of  the  Stuart  kings  of  England. 

A  spacious  room  is  provided  for  assembling 
before  a  customer  all  the  decorations  and 
fittings  for  a  room — furniture,  draperies, 
rugs,  etc.  These  are  collected  at  the  time  and 
for  the  purpose,  from  a  number  of  sections. 

In  another  room  representatives  of  the 
home  decorating  branch  of  the  section  suggest 
to  prospective  customers  plans  and  ideas.  The 
results  of  these  conversations  are  submitted 
to  the  interested  customer  in  the  form  of 
water-color  drawings  or  pen  and  ink  sketches. 
These  designs  are  produced  by  artists,  who 
work  in  another  room  close  at  hand. 

In  the  room  in  which  conferences  are  held 
between  customers  and  the  section's  home 
decoration  experts  it  was  interesting  to  note  a 
list,  in  large  type,  of  the  various  things  a 
decorator  must  bear  in  mind  during  the  course 
of  such  discussions. 

So  thoroughly  does  the  furniture  section 
go  into  the  matter  of  home  decoration  that  in 
addition  to  the  other  work  the  designing  of 
lighting  fixtures  is  carried  on  in  it. 

Among  the  most  recent  developments   in 


the  furniture  section  is  a  bureau  wherein 
prospective  customers  may  obtain  advice  and 
suggestions  as  to  the  kind  of  furniture, 
draperies  and  other  accessories  they  might 
best  select  for  a  room  or  for  their  entire  home. 
In  this  bureau  there  are  constantly  on  hand 
three  women  who  are  skilled  in  home  decora- 
tion. 

During  last  summer  special  attention  was 
given  by  the  bureau  to  wicker  and  reed  furni- 
ture. Several  pieces,  each  in  a  different  fin- 
ish, were  on  exhibition,  together  with  the 
decorative  material  for  cushions  and  for  up- 
holstering settees  and  chairs.  Some  of  the 
finishes  given  to  the  furniture  were  extreme- 
ly novel  as  well  as  attractive.  Drapery  ma- 
terials, and  wallpaper  also  when  desired,  are 
shown  with  the  furniture  on  request. 

All  of  this  service  is  rendered  without 
charge  and  independently  of  whether  those 
asking  for  advice  are  customers  or  otherwise. 

In  passing  it  is  worth  while  to  call  atten- 
tion to  a  display  noted  in  the  rug  department 
during  one  of  our  numerous  visits  to  the  re- 
tail store.  This  display,  designed  to  interest 
visitors  in  rag  rugs,  accurately  reproduced 
the  living  room  of  a  homestead  of  the  Colonial 
period — with  its  small  windows  and  old-fash- 
ioned valence  and  curtains,  its  rag  rugs  here 
and  there  on  the  floor,  its  antique  mirror,  its 
eight-day  clock  on  the  mantelpiece,  and  its 
tea-table,  together  with  a  cradle  in  one  cor- 
ner and  a  tall  candlestick  on  each  side  of  the 
fireplace. 

Altogether,  a  very  attractive  showing,  sug- 
gesting to  every  visitor  the  attractive  nature 
of  a  Colonial  room  and,  in  particular,  the 
quaint  prettiness  which  characterizes  the  rag 
rug. 

In  the  toy  section  there  are  employed  no 
less  than  100  salespeople.  Especially  are  toys 
an  advertised  feature  just  prior  to  Fourth  of 
July,  on  the  ground  that  thoughtful  and  pro- 
gressive parents  prefer  to  give  their  children 
toys  at  that  time,  rather  than  fireworks. 

Easter,  also  being  a  gift  season,  is  recog- 
nized as  an  especially  favorable  time  for  the 
selling  of  toys. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  ''STORE  FOR  MEN"  ANOTHER  STEP  FORWARD 


THE  buildings  covering  the  block  bounded 
by    State,    Washington    and    Randolph 
Streets  and  Wabash  Avenue,  extensive 
and  lofty  though  they  are,  form  but  a  part 


and  sub-basement,  immediately  across  Wash- 
ington Street,  on  the  corner  of  Wabash  Ave- 
nue. The  store  measures  150  by  150  ft. 
Six  floors,  with  spacious  mezzanine,  plus  the 


With  the  proportions  of  a  vast  hall  or  temple  this  main  floor  and  mezzanine  of  the  Store  for 
Men  commands  the  admiration  of  every  visitor.  The  furnishings  are  in  strict  consonance  with  the 
architectural  scheme. 


of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  retail  establish- 
ment. 

In  the  spring  of  1914  the  important  step 
was  taken  of  separating  the  men's  wear  busi- 
ness from  the  rest  of  the  store.  For  this  pur- 
pose Marshall  Field  &  Co.  had  just  completed 
a  twenty-one  story   building,  with  basement 


basement,  the  total  area  being  211,492  sq.  ft., 
form  what  is  known  as  "The  Store  for  Men." 
The  second  floor  is  in  the  form  of  a  spa- 
cious mezzanine,  so  that  the  main  floor  has  all 
the  appearance  of  a  lofty  hall.  This  impres- 
sion is  heightened  by  the  lofty  fluted  columns 
and  by  the  lighting  method,  which  includes 


66 


The  "Store  for  Men"  Another  Step  Forward 


67 


a  semi-floodlight  system  near  the  ceiling  and 
around  the  capitals  of  the  columns  where  they 
join  the  ceiling. 

Here,  as  in  the  main  store,  the  floor  is  laid 
in  marble  tiles,  the  floorcases  and  the  bases  of 
all  fixtures  are  of  dark  green  marble  beauti- 
fully streaked  with  gray.  The  completeness 
of  the  provision  made  for  supplying  men's 
needs  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  in  addition 
to  the  usual  lines  of  furnishings,  hats,  gloves 


Store  for  Men  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  on 
the  fifth  floor  there  is  a  line  of  trunks  and 
bags  of  the  more  serviceable  character,  placed 
there  to  accommodate .  the  man  who  is  in  a 
hurry  and  has  not  time  to  go  over  to  the  trav- 
elers' luggage  department  in  the  main  store. 
On  the  second,  or  mezzanine,  floor  is  a 
most  extensive  line  of  footwear  of  all  kinds, 
together  with  underwear  and  a  custom  tailor- 
ing department.     The  third  floor  carries  the 


Some  idea  of  the  spaciousness,  and  of  the  elaborate  character,  of  the  furnishings  of  the  tea  rooms 
in  the  main  store  is  afforded  by  this  view  of  one  of  them.  Glimpses  of  the  adjoining  rooms  on  the 
left  give  more  than  a  hint  as  to  the  capacity  of  the  group  of  tea  rooms,  and  indicate  the  ease  with 
which  special  parties  can  be  taken  care  of. 


and  the  like  there  is  a  spacious  section  carry- 
ing fancy  leather  goods  of  all  kinds  and  an- 
other handling  all  sorts  of  jewelry  for  the  use 
of  men. 

That  careful  consideration  has  been  given 
to  what  a  man  might  want  to  purchase  in  the 


regular  lines  of  clothing,  while  on  the  fourth 
are  special  or  seasonable  lines — summer 
clothes,  at  the  proper  period,  and  overcoats, 
in  the  fall  and  winter — together  with  all  kinds 
of  sports  wear. 

The  fifth  floor  supplies  men's  needs  in  con- 


68 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


nection  with  sports.  The  range  of  auto  sup- 
plies is  complete  from  a  monkey  wrench  to  a 
camp  trailer.  For  fishing,  golf  and  other 
sports  the  man's  needs  are  equally  well  taken 
care  of. 

The  sixth  floor  houses  the  Men's  Grill,  a 
delightful,  club-like  restaurant  where  at  noon 


sides,  by  a  semi-indirect  electric  system,  and 
also  from  a  dome  of  softly  colored  glass.  The 
floor  is  tiled  in  marble.  The  square  pillars 
are  enclosed  to  a  considerable  height  in  dark 
mahogany  and  the  walls  are  similarly  paneled. 
The  menus  and  service  are  of  the  best,  and 
the  chairs   are   of  the   cosy,    "arm"   variety 


With  its  dome  of  Favrile  glass,  mahogany  panels,  dark  mahogany  furniture  and  marble-tiled  Aoor  the 
Men's  Grill  is  a  luncheon  place  famous  for  its  club-tike  atmosphere  as  well  as  for  the  excellence  of  its 
cuisine. 


every  week-day  may  be  found  business  and 
professional  men  of  wide  acquaintance  and 
reputation  not  only  in  Chicago  but  in  other 
centers.  The  visitor,  therefore,  is  quite  like- 
ly in  lunching  there  to  meet  accidentally  a 
man  from  his  home  town  and,  naturally,  is 
impressed  with  the  appeal  which  the  Field 
store  has  for  men  all  over  this  country. 

The  Grill,  with  its  kitchen,  occupies  the 
entire  floor.    It  is  lighted  by  windows  on  two 


which  invite  one  to  enjoy  an  after-luncheon 
cigar,  prolong  a  chat  or  devote  one's  attention 
to  a  business  conference. 

A  striking  feature  of  this  Men's  Grill  is 
the  great  central  fountain  in  polished  marble 
and  metal.  The  water  falls  in  a  shower  around 
the  edges  of  a  bowl  from  the  center  of  which 
rises  a  low  pillar  surmounted  by  a  polished 
sphere.  The  water  falls  into  a  second  and 
larger  basin  and  thence  into  a  still  larger  re- 


The  "Store  for  Men"  Another  Step  Forward 


69 


ceptacle,  which  is  circular  in  form  and  rises 
eighteen  inches  or  more  from  the  floor. 


THE  Store  for  Men  is  connected  with  the 
main  store  by  a  tunnel  under  Washington 
'  Street.  And  having  viewed  the  conveniences 
supplied  for  the  men  let  us  proceed  into  the 
main  store,  take  one  of  the  numerous  elevators 
— there  are  92  of  them  in  the  retail  premises 
— and  visit  the  tea  and  grill  rooms  where 
women  and  men  also,  may  have  their  hunger 
and  thirst  appeased. 

These  are  located  on  the  seventh  floor  and 
occupy  a  space  of  100,000  sq.  ft.  Not  only 
luncheon  but  afternoon  tea  also  is  served.  As 
many  as  3900  persons  may  be  served  at  one 
time,  and  in  addition  to  the  usual  forms  of 
luncheon  one  may  order  in  advance  a  table 
d'hote  meal  for  a  party,  large  or  small.  These 
specially  ordered  luncheons  may  be  served  in 
booths  or  in  private  dining  rooms.  In  many 
instances  conventions  and  clubs  have  taken 
advantage  of  this  service — though,  with  such 
large  numbers,  one  of  the  very  large  rooms 
usually  occupied  by  the  general  public  is  de- 
voted to  the  purpose. 

The  larger  rooms,  or  tea  rooms  proper, 
being  situated  on  the  wide  gallery  which  runs 
around  one  of  the  light  wells  or  rotundas, 
have  an  unusually  spacious  and  lofty  air,  and, 
as  already  mentioned,  they  have  the  benefit 
of  the  wonderful  light  effects  provided  by 
the  dome  which  forms  a  large  part  of  the 
ceiling. 


One  of  the  most  attractive  rooms  perhaps 
is  what  is  known  as  the  Circassian  Walnut 
room  or  South  Grill  room.  A  large  pool  or 
basin  in  the  center,  surrounded  by  palms, 
ferns  and  other  plants,  with  a  tall  palm  in  the 
center,  gives  a  peculiar  charm  to  this  beautiful 
room. 

Then  there  is  the  Narcissus  Fountain 
Room.  The  fountain  is  of  marble  in  a  chaste 
and  somewhat  severe  design.  This  room  is  a 
favorite  for  afternoon  tea  as  well  as  for  lunch* 
eon  purposes. 

The  smallest  room  of  the  group  is  known 
as  the  Wedgwood  Room,  being  furnished  and 
decorated  in  the  blue  and  white  that  is  rem- 
iniscent of  the  famous  Wedgwood  pottery. 
It  seats  about  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  peo- 
ple, and  is  in  demand  not  only  for  luncheon 
and  afternoon  tea  but  also  as  a  breakfast  room 
for  the  use  of  early  shoppers  and  out-of-town 
visitors. 

Not  only  are  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  tea 
rooms  noted  far  and  wide  for  what  they  serve 
and  the  way  they  serve  it;  they  also  comply 
with  requests  from  customers  for  informa- 
tion as  to  how  any  especially  acceptable  dish 
is  made.  So  great  was  the  number  of  requests 
for  one  recipe  that  the  firm  had  it  printed 
on  a  card.  Of  this  one  recipe  over  15,000 
copies  were  thus  distributed. 

No  visitor  to  the  tea  rooms  or  men's 
grill  can  fail  to  be  impressed  with  these  words, 
which  are  printed  on  the  menu: 

A  store  of  service — service  in  merchandise — 
service  in  conduct. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  FIRST  TO  ESTABLISH  AN  UNDERPRICE  BASEMENT 


T 


State  nnd  'Washington-sts. 


I  HE  basement  of  the  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  retail  store  is  of  especial  interest 
and  for  more  than  one  reason.    In  the 

first  place,  the  firm  were,  in  all  probability, 

the    first    to    use    a 

basement  for  selling 

purposes.     Secondly, 

it  is  a  certainty  that 

Marshall  Field  &  Co. 

were  the  pioneers  in 

establishing    what 

has  since  become  a 

familiar   feature    in 

the  retail  dry  goods 

business,   having   of 

late    years    been 

adopted    in    many 

stores  —  namely,  an 

"underprice    base- 
men t,"      "economy 

basement,"      "down- 
stairs   s  t  o  r  e,"    0  r 

whatever  one  chooses 

to    call    a    basement 

wherein  are  carried 

goods  of  lower  price 

than    those    handled 

on  the  upper  floors. 
We  are  fortunate 

in  being  able  to  re- 
produce on  this  page 

a  n       advertisement 

published  on  Oct.  26, 

1887,    which    proves 

that  in  that  year  the 

basement    salesroom 

of  Marshall  Field  & 

Co.  was  regarded  by 

the  firm  as  "a  great 

supply  center  for  the 

less  expensive 

grades  of  merchan- 
dise." 


The    Lkss    Expensive    but    Reliable 
r,ules  of  such  t^oods   as   are   required  by   cold 
\ve;idier,  arc  shown  in  our 

Basement  Salesroom  15 

In  \ery  large  assortments  an^ 
At  (Unquestiqiiably)  Lowest-Prices. 


We  itemize  as  follows: 

Ladiis'  Mcnnu  Vents  and  Drawers,  excellent  quality,. 50c  each 

Ladies'  Scarlet  Vests  4hd   Drawers - ,. 75c  each 

Children's  ^\■l1ite  Merino  Vests  and   Drawers r, !  5'-  c^™ 

C!)ildr.n's  .Scotch  Woo!  Vests  and  Drawers 40c  each 

Men's  Seotcii  Mixed  Shirts  and    Drawers -----Soc  each 

Men's  Cauiels  I  lair  Shirts  and   Drawers.,.-- 50c  aatf  90c  eath 
Men's  Genuine  Scotch  Lamb's  WotftShirts  &  D«.J|i.50  eac 
Ladies'  Ribbed  atld  Plain  Cashnjerfc  &  Merino  Hosfe. 
Ladies'  I-xtra  Heavy  Cashmere'Hosc,  colors  and  l;lacl< 
Children's  Ribbed  and  I'lain  Cashmere  Hose,  colors 

and  black,  all   sizes ,-- — 

Children's  Heavy   Ribbed  Wool    Hosc-JSi^  40<:.  45' 
Men's  Genuine  Scotch  Wool  J  Hose,. $4.50  doz.-. 
Men's  I'.est  Knglish  ilerino  4  Ho?e,  $3  doz 

Knit  foboygati  Caps ....   -  -  - ,  cr   toe  7«;c  eacM 

Kmt  Fascinators  (extra  values) ■'^%f^'J.^!n%P 

Knit  Lerj'.;iris.-. -,  '."SI!  j.,    j,,  «..^a,^ 

Hl.-uiketi:    white ^. 8oc,$r,$T.ii^^^o 

Ulitnkcts,  all-wool, ,  white - -  - 

I3lankct.s,  all-wool,  Tcd.: 4..--- 


Each  of  the  above  quotations  is  a  Bargain 
worthy  of  carefuh  attention,  and  for  every-  item 
printed  in  abov^Qist  we  show  tenor  one  hu^rcd 
differei.^  styles,  litems  orquahtics  O^^^ 
^tnt  is  a  GRi-:ArSurrLY  Center  for  the  L^ss 
Expensive  Hradi^s  of  Merchandise. ->   .- 


Tliis  advertiseiiiciit,  fiublished  on  Oct.  26,  1887, 
and  carefully  preserved  by  one  of  the  department 
heads  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  retail,  affords  incon- 
testable proof  that  at  that  early  date  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  conducted  a  bargain  or  under-price  basement. 
thus  preceding  by  many  years  other  concerns  which 
have  adopted  this  method  of  merchandising. 


It  is  equally  certain,  however,  that  consid- 
erably over  two  years  before  that  time  the 
basement  was  used  for  the  sale  of  lower-priced 
goods. 

To  go  back  to  the 
beginnings  of  the 
use  of  the  basement 
as  a  salesroom  by 
Marshall  Field  & 
Co.,  it  will  be  re- 
called that  in  an 
earlier  chapter  we 
stated  that  in  the 
early  days  the  base- 
ment of  the  Field 
store  was  occupied 
largely  by  boilers, 
engines  and  other 
service  essentials 
and  in  part  also  by 
reserve  stock.  Space 
for  selling  purposes 
was  obtained  by  re- 
moving the  reserve 
stock  to  the  fifth  and 
sixth  floors,  those 
floors  being  used  at 
the  time  for  work- 
room purposes  only. 
On  the  sixth,  or 
mansard  roof,  floor 
there  was  the  car- 
pet and  upholstery 
workroom  and  on 
the  fifth  floor  the 
dressmaking  work- 
room. 

The  basement 
salesroom  was  open- 
ed on  May  31,  1880. 
There  were  but 
four  sections,  viz., 
medium    priced    de- 


_j.0O 


70 


The  First  to  Establish  an  Underprice  Basement 


71 


pendable  quality  wool  and  cotton  dress  goods; 
prints  and  calicoes;  domestics  and  cotton 
batts;  and  flannels.  The  first  day's  sales 
amounted  to  $507.84.  For  the  first  week  the 
sales  aggregated  $3,583.30. 

The  basement  at  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  was 
first  used  for  the  sale  of  goods  at  lower  prices 
than  those  carried  on  the  upper  floors  on  Jan. 
1,  1885,  when  linens  were  placed  on  sale  in 
the  basement. 

In  September,  1895,  the  number  of  sections 
in  the  basement  had  increased  to  29.  In  1898 
their  number  was  45.  Among  the  added  sec- 
tions was  shoes.  The  main  shoe  section  had 
been   installed  on  the  second   floor  in   1892. 

The  area  of  the  main  store  basement  to- 
day is  187,144  sq.  ft.  The  number  of  sections 
in  the  basement  is  67. 

This  statement  may  or  may  not  convey 
an  idea  of  the  extent  of  space  involved.  To 
most  readers,  no  doubt,  it  will  be  more  illumi- 
nating to  state,  as  is  the  truth,  that  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.'s  basement  is  an  immense  depart- 
ment store  in  itself,  but  all  on  one  floor. 

Moreover,  due  to  the  efficient  ventilating 
system  the  air  is  as  pure  and  as  cool  as  that 
of  an  upstairs  salesroom.  Also  attention  is 
paid  to  the  maintenance  of  quality  in  the  base- 
ment merchandise  just  as  consistently  as  is 
the  case  in  connection  with  the  goods  carried 
in  the  upstairs  sections. 

The  observant  visitor  is  astonished  alike 
at  the  number  of  lines  carried  and  at  the 
size  of  the  sections.  There  are  women's, 
misses'  and  children's  garments,  of  all  kinds; 
there  are  yard  goods — silks,  wool  dress  goods, 
cottons,  etc. — there  are  laces,  millinery,  gloves, 
shoes,  corsets,  underwear,  draperies,  lamps, 
china,  glassware,  toilet  goods,  stationery  (in- 
cluding commercial  stationery),  candy — in 
fact,  practically  all  the  lines  that  are  carried 
in  a  store  having  five  or  six  floors  and  base- 
ment. 

And  to  this  must  be  added  all  the  men's 
wear  and  boys'  wear  lines,  which  are  carried 
in  the  basement  of  the  Store  for  Men.  This 
basement  is  connected  with  the  main  store 


basement  by  a  tunnel  under  Washington 
Street. 

The  aisle  leading  to  this  tunnel  is,  it  is 
safe  to  say,  the  longest  aisle  in  any  store  in 
the  world.  Extending  from  Randolph  Street, 
on  the  north,  to  the  southernmost  edge  of  the 
Store  for  Men,  this  aisle  measures  604  ft. 

Spaciousness  of  sections  is  especially  note- 
worthy in  connection  with  the  women's, 
misses'  and  children's  apparel.  This  section 
is  carpeted  throughout,  and  the  pillars,  as 
elsewhere  in  the  basement,  are  surrounded 
by  mirrors.  Goods  are  carried  in  cabinets  and 
stock-rooms,  with  a  liberal  display  of  mer- 
chandise on  reels.  The  women's  and  children's 
shoe  section  is  also  of  great  extent.  Note- 
worthy for  its  size  also  is  the  millinery.  That 
section  also  is  carpeted. 

The  silks,  dress  goods  and  other  yard 
goods,  being  located  under  the  wide  sidewalk 
along  the  State  Street  front,  have  the  benefit 
of  a  flood  of  daylight,  although  all  the  sec- 
tions ^re  well  lighted  by  artificial  means,  or 
otherwise. 

The  equipment  of  all  the  sections  is 
that  of  a  high  or  medium-class  store.  Ma- 
hogany shelving  and  counters  are  the  invaria- 
ble rule,  and  where  carpet  is  not  laid  the  floor 
is  of  marble  tiles.  Floor  cases  and  showcases 
are  freely  used,  so  that  there  is  excellent  dis- 
play of  merchandise.  This  is  added  to  in  ap- 
propriate departments  by  suitable  merchan- 
dise exhibits.  For  instance,  in  the  draperies 
and  lace  curtain  goods  sections  there  are  ar- 
ranged against  the  pillars  displays  showing 
drapes  and  curtains  as  they  will  look  in  the 
home. 

Between  the  main  store  and  the  store  for 
men — still  speaking  of  the  basement — there  is 
a  rest-room,  and  quite  a  spacious  one,  for 
the  use  of  men  as  well  as  of  women. 

The  basement  store  for  men  is  as  fine  a 
store  in  the  matter  of  fittings  and  general  ap- 
pearance as  any  average  store  or  department. 

In  short,  the  entire  basement,  though 
handling  goods  of  lower  price  than  the  up- 
stairs   sections,    is    a   mighty   good    example 


72 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


of  a  department  store  seeking  the  moderate- 
priced  trade.  The  bargain  atmosphere  is  en- 
tirely absent.  It  is  a  lower-price  store,  but 
lower  price  only  in  comparison  with  the  class 
of  merchandise  carried  on  the  upper  floors. 
The  same  standards  as  to  quality  prevail  in 


Inquiry  shows  that  in  1882  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.'s  retail  deliveries  were  effected  by 
means  of  seven  wagons.  Of  these,  three 
went  south,  two  north  and  two  west. 

The  service  was  continually  increased  until 
it  required  700   horses   to   take  care   of   its 


In  the  width  of  its  aisles,  the  character  of  its  fixtures  and  the  quality  of  the  goods  handled.  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.'s  basement  is  on  a  par  with  the  upper  floors  of  many  a  department  store. 


the  basement  as  are  insisted  on  in  connection 
with  the  merchandise  handled  in  the  other 
branches  of  the  firm's  business. 

The  basement,  too,  has  its  own  conveni- 
ences for  the  public.  There  is,  for  example, 
a  post  office,  with  parcel-post  facilities,  located 
close  to  the  rest-room  already  mentioned. 

Altogether,  the  basement  at  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.'s  retail  store  is  something  as  distinctive 
in  its  way  as  any  other  feature  of  that  re- 
markable establishment. 

IN  an  earlier  chapter  reference  has  been 
made  to  the  delivery  service  afforded  by 
Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  in  that  firm's  early  days. 


deliveries.  The  delivery  section  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  now  serves  daily  an  area  of  450 
square  miles.  The  number  of  trucks  and 
wagons  in  normal  use,  all  of  which  are 
motor-driven,  is  411.  There  are  six  garages, 
as  follows:  One  Central,  two  South,  two 
North  and  one  Main.  With  the  exception  of 
the  Central,  these  garages  are  also  sub- 
delivery  stations. 

The  Central  garage  is  located  at  Polk 
and  Desplaines  streets.  It  was  completed 
April  30,  1918.  It  is  located  in  four  build- 
ings, of  one  story  and  two  stories.  Each 
of  these  buildings  measures  70  by  237  ft. 
They  occupy  an  entire  city  block.     In  this 


The  First  to  Establish  an  Underprice  Basement 


73 


garage  are  housed  and  cared  for  276  eledtric 
and  145  gasoline-driven  vehicles.  The  smaller 
garages  have  a  capacity  of  from  16  to  52  cars, 
respectively. 

Having  glass  roofs,  the  one-story  sections 
are  daylighted  even  in  the  most  cloudy  weath- 
er. The  second  floors  of  the  other  sections  are 
also  glass-roofed,  thus  affording  the  best  con- 
ditions under  which  to  conduct  the  machine 
shops  which  are  there  located. 

These  shops  are  of  the  most  complete  char- 
acter, equipped  with  machine  tools  and  all  other 
appliances  for  doing  any  kind  of  work  on  a  mo- 
tor, whether  electric  or  gas  driven. 

Steam  power  for  compressing  air  for  tires, 
for  riveting  and  for  other  purposes  is  derived 
from  two  big  boilers.  There  is  a  still  for 
purifying  the  water  for  the  batteries  of  elec- 
tric cars.  The  distilled  water  thus  obtained 
is  conveyed  in  bottles  of  many  gallons'  ca- 
pacity to  the  firm's  wholesale  and  retail  stores 
and  their  other  garages.  Gasoline  and  oil  are 
handled  by  means  of  the  most  up-to-date  ap- 
pliances. There  is  also  provided  means  for 
filtering  oil  and  thus  making  it  available  for 
continued  use. 

Castings  of  all  kinds  are  carried  in  two 
well-arranged  stock-rooms,  and  these  castings 
are  made  into  the  finished  part  by  turning, 
threading,  or  whatever  process  is  necessary. 
As  an  example  of  skillful  work  along  these 
lines,  the  plant  is  now  obtaining  gear  castings 
and  cutting  its  own  gears. 

Not  content  with  making  repairs  of  all 
kinds,  this  central  garage  is  building  trucks 
for  the  use  of  the  delivery  departments  of  the 
retail  and  wholesale  businesses  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co. 

Care  for  the  comfort  and  health  of  drivers 
and  garage  men  is  shown  in  the  provision  of 
shower  baths  for  their  use  in  the  central 
garage. 

In  this  central  garage,  again,  one  comes 
across  instances  of  long  service  with  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  The  superintendent  in  charge  of 
this  and  the  other  garages  started  in  as  a 
wagon  boy  thirty  odd  years  ago.  He  intro- 
duced us  to  a  fifty-year  medal  man  who,  he 


remarked,  "had  been  his  boss."  Most  of  the 
mechanics  in  the  plant  started  in  as  wagon 
boys  or  drivers  and  grew  into  their  present 
positions.  Always  the  same  thing  through- 
out the  Field  organization:  opportunity!  op- 
portunity! in  some  direction  or  other  for  the 
one  who  is  able  to  recognize  the  opportunity 
and  profit  by  it. 

As  said,  the  vehicles  in  the  Field  delivery 
department  are  all  motor-driven.  The  last 
horse  was  sold  on  the  completion  of  the  Cen- 
tral garage,  and  the  delivery  department 
manager's  comment  is  that  "it  was  a  pa- 
thetic afternoon."  "People  used  to  call  up," 
he  added,  "and  report  that  a  horse  or  team 
showed  signs  of  being  tired  out.  We  thought 
we  would  thereafter  be  spared  that;  and  we 
were.  Nowadays,  however,  they  ring  us  up 
and  tell  us  (with  just  about  as  much  accu- 
racy as  in  the  matter  of  the  horse)  that  our 
wagons  are  exceeding  the  speed  limit,  when 
the  fact  is  that  they  can't  run  over  twelve 
miles  an  hour." 

Evidently,  the  public  of  Chicago  and 
vicinity  take  a  keen  interest  in  every  opera- 
tion of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  store. 

The  selling  departments  are  connected 
with  the  delivery  department  in  the  sub- 
basement  by  spiral  chutes.  Three  of  these 
are  two-bladed;  that  is,  they  are  so  divided 
that  C.  0.  D.'s  and  "charge  sends"  are  sep- 
arated from  the  "cash  sends."  These  are 
dropped  on  to  separate  belt  conveyors,  thus 
expediting  the  sorters'  work. 

Just  what  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
delivery  section  can  do  in  the  way  of  well- 
planned  and  rapidly  executed  work  was 
clearly  shown  when  the  time  came  for  the 
removal  of  all  the  men's  goods  from  the  main 
building  to  the  Store  for  Men  in  1914. 

When  the  store  closed  at  5.30  p.  m.  all 
had  been  put  in  readiness  and  the  workers 
on  the  tremendous  job  knew  exactly  where 
each  truckload  had  to  go.  The  result  was 
that  at  9.15  p.  m.  all  the  merchandise  for 
men  had  been  transferred  to  the  new  build- 
ing and  put  in  place,  ready  for  the  opening 
on  the  following  day. 


74 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


The  receiving  and  marking  room  occu- 
pies the  eleventh  floor. 

The  oflSces  of  the  retail  management,  the 
advertising  manager,  the  superintendent  and 
his  aids,  the  delivery  manager  and  his  imme- 
diate assistant  occupy  part  of  the  ninth  floor 
of  the  retail  store.  All  of  these  offices  are 
fitted  up  in  handsome  style,  the  partitions  be- 
ing of  mahogany  and  plate  glass.  The  appel- 
lation, "Mahogany  Forest,"  has  been  given  to 
this  part  of  the  ninth  floor.  It  fails,  however, 
to  convey  an  impression  of  the  quiet  dignity 
and  business-like  atmosphere  of  this  portion 
of  the  store. 

The  editor  of  the  Economist  recalls  visit- 
ing the  store  in  1904  and  noting  with  interest 
the  presence  of  a  tube  room  on  two  or  three 
of  the  upper  floors,  in  addition  to  the  main 
cashier's  room  in  connection  with  the  pneu- 
matic cash  system,  which  was  located  in  the 
basement.  To-day  the  central  station  of  the 
pneumatic  tube  system  is  in  the  sub-basement 
of  the  main  building,  with  another  central 
station  in  the  Store  for  Men  building. 

This  system  is  operated  throughout  the 
establishment  for  various  purposes.  Among 
these  is  the  supplying  of  change  to  the  cash- 
iers and  the  salespeople  who  operate  cash 
registers. 

Here  it  is  proper  to  explain  that  cash  is 
handled  and  change  made  in  the  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  retail  store  by  inspector- 
cashiers,  on  what  is  known  as  the  open-till 
system,  as  well  as  by  salespeople  using  the 
multiple-drawer  cash  register.  One  hundred 
and  sixty  of  these  machines  are  in  use  in  the 
store.  Not  at  every  inspector-cashier's  desk, 
however,  is  there  a  tube  outlet. 

The  tubes  also  transport  transfers  that 
have  been  closed,  by  the  customer's  purchases 
having  been  completed,  from  the  department 
where  the  last  transaction  took  place  to  the 
place  where  transfer  packages  are  assembled. 

The  largest  percentage  of  the  cash  credit, 
or  refund,  tickets  go  through  the  tubes  to  be 
cashed.  Through  the  tubes  also  go  notes  be- 
tween stock-rooms  and  selling  departments. 
It  is  found  more  convenient  to  handle  requests 


for  goods  from  stock-rooms  by  written  memo- 
randa rather  than  by  telephone.  There  is  less 
opportunity  for  error  and,  moreover,  the  order 
may  be  filled  direct  from  the  stock  room  with 
the  written  order  as  a  voucher. 

Charge  "take-withs"  are  certified  as  to 
credit  by  means  of  the  telephone  automatic 
O.K'ing  system.  Charge  "sends"  are  author- 
ized in  the  delivery  department. 

These  methods  represent  a  long  step  from 
the  days  when  the  older  members  of  the  man- 
agement and  employees  began  their  long  con- 
nection with  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  retail 
store.  At  that  time  in  the  Field  store,  as  in 
others  of  the  period,  the  cry  of  "Cash!  Come, 
cash!"  resounded,  and  the  tapping  of  pencils 
on  the  counter  was  adopted  for  the  same  pur- 
pose of  calling  a  messenger  to  run  from  the 
salesman  at  the  counter  to  the  cashier's  desk 
and  back  again. 

Inquiry  shows  that  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
did  not  adopt  the  gravity  system,  which  was 
the  forerunner  of  the  caible  cash  system  and 
of  the  pneumatic.  In  the  gravity  system  the 
money  was  placed  by  the  salesman  in  a  large 
ball  of  wood,  composed  of  two  hollow  hemi- 
spheres, around  the  edges  of  which  screw 
threads  had  been  turned.  The  salesman  put 
the  money  and  sales-check  into  one  of  the 
hemispheres,  screwed  the  two  together  and 
placed  the  ball  on  a  light  double  rail,  along 
which  it  rolled  gracefully  but  somewhat 
slowly  to  the  cashier's  desk.  The  ball  and 
change,  of  course,  were  returned  to  the  sales- 
man in  a  similar  manner. 

Marshall  Field  &  Co.  did  have  a  basket 
carrier  system  for  parcels  and  cash  at  one  time, 
however.  This  was  in  a  room  in  one  of  the 
buildings  on  State  Street,  north  of  the  original 
store,  which,  as  has  been  related,  were  acquired 
and  used  for  store  purposes  until  the  present 
twelve-story  buildings  were  erected  on  their 
site.  This  basket  system  was  used  for  hosiery 
and  knit  underwear,  those  lines,  together  with 
umbrellas,  being  carried  in  the  room  in  ques- 
tion. 

Pneumatic  tubes  were  first  installed  in  the 
Field  store  in  1893,  the  year  of  the  great  Co- 


The  First  to  Establish  an  Underprice  Basement 


75 


lumbian  Exposition,  which  was  held  in  Chicago. 

The  first  belt  conveyor  system  for  handling 
packages  was  installed  by  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  in  1906.  It  was  placed  in  the  Middle  Wa- 
bash Building,  which  was  then  in  course  of 
completion.  The  belt  conveyor  was  looked 
upon  with  wonder  at  that  time,  and  the  in- 
stallation was  regarded  as  extraordinarily 
elaborate — as  no  doubt  it  was  for  the  period 
when  it  was  installed. 

Doubtless,  the  introduction  of  this  appli- 
ance by  the  great  Chicago  house  did  much  to 
foster  its  adoption  in  other  stores. 

Store  hours  in  the  80's  were  from  eight 
in  the  morning  to  six  at  night.  Boys  and  girls 
went  to  work  at  an  extremely  early  age — 
which  accounts  for  the  great  number  of  men 
in  the  Field  organization,  wholesale  as  well  as 
retail,  who  are  hale  and  hearty  and  in  active 
service,  although  they  entered  the  employ  of 
the  concern  thirty,  forty  and  even  fiifty  years 
ago.  For  example,  last  year  the  house  cele- 
brated, as  is  its  wont,  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  consecutive  employment  of  three  men,  and 
it  was  found  that  the  average  age  at  which  the 
trio  had  become  connected  with  the  firm  was 
twelve  years. 

Besides  the  selling  and  service  depart- 
ments, the  ofl3;ces,  receiving  and  marking 
rooms,  the  delivery  department  and  other 
necessary  features  of  a  department  store,  the 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  retail  establishment  in- 
cludes a  large  number  of  workrooms  and  fac- 
tories. On  the  tenth  floor  space  is  devoted  to 
a  room  where  skilled  operatives  repair  jewelry 


brought  in  by  customers.  In  another  room 
engraving  is  carried  on.  On  the  same  floor  is 
the  upholstery  workroom,  a  veritable  factory 
where  portieres,  awnings  and  other  goods  are 
made  up  from  the  store's  materials.  The 
millinery  workroom  is  also  on  this  tenth 
floor. 

On  the  twelfth  floor  are  the  fur  workrooms, 
and  it  is  fitting  to.  state  here  that  on  the  same 
floor,  and  also  on  the  thirteenth  are  located  the 
fur  storage  rooms,  or  vaults  as  some  call  them, 
where  customers'  valuable  garments  and  other 
pieces  are  preserved  in  a  temperature  "where 
moth  cannot  corrupt."  On  the  twelfth  floor, 
also,  are  the  garment  alteration  rooms.  On 
the  thirteenth  floor  window  shades  are  made. 

An  unusual  feature,  one,  we  believe,  that 
is  unique,  indeed,  is  a  custom  shoe  department, 
and  so  we  find  on  the  thirteenth  floor  a  fully 
equipped  shoe  making  repair  plant,  with  its 
up-to-date  machinery  and  skilled  workmen. 
There  is  on  this  floor,  too,  a  laundry. 
There  is  a  spacious  plant  for  the  making  of 
candy.  And  even  this  is  not  all.  There  is  on 
this  same  thirteenth  floor  a  room  for  the  de- 
velopment of  photographs. 

There  are  also  a  number  of  plants  making 
goods  for  the  retail  which  are  located  outside 
of  the  store  building.  Prominent  among  these 
is  a  factory  making  clothing  for  men  and  boys. 
Another  large  plant  is  that  which  makes  up 
rugs  and  furniture. 

Several  of  these  retail  manufacturing 
plants  and  workrooms  will  be  described  in  de- 
tail in  a  subsequent  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
ADVERTISING  POLICIES  OF  THE  RETAIL  STORE 


IN  an  early  chapter  of  this  series  it  was  re- 
lated that  Marshall  Field  eschewed  Sun- 
day newspaper  advertising,  and  the  rea- 
son was  given  for  this  policy.  Mr.  Field,  it 
was  pointed  cut, 
was  actuated  by 
the  feeling  that 
a  house  like  that 
of  which  he  was 
the  head  owed  it 
as  a  duty  to  the 
community  t  o 
set  what  it 
might  regard  as 
a  good  example. 
He  held  that  if 
Marshall  Field 
and  his  firm  did 
not  show  respect 
for  Sunday 
many  others 
would  be  equally 
lax  and  careless. 
Sunday  he  re- 
garded as  a  day 
on  which  busi- 
ness might  tem- 
porarily be  for- 
gotten and  men's 
thoughts  turned 
to  higher  things. 
He  felt  that  in 
matters  of  this 
nature  as  in 
others  his  firm 
ought  to  be  a 
leader  and  he 
realized  that  leadership  carries  with  ii  a 
great  responsibility. 

Holding  these  views,  Mr.  Field  not  only  did 
not  advertise  in  the  Sunday  newspapers,  but  he 
did  not  allow  his  window  displays  to  be  visible 
on  that  day.    This  policy  has  been  continued 


RECONS  TRUCTION 

"TFT  the  wheels  of  industry  hum! 

JL^  Mankind  turns,  freed  from  the  grip 
of  war,  to  rebuild  the  world. 

"Construction"  is  the  slogan  of  the 
day.  All  the  signs  betbken  expansive 
development  — a  busy  world,  resuming 
old  tasks  and  creating  new  ones. 

There  must  be  no  shackles  on  produc- 
tion; no  stinted  labor;  no  idle  hours. 

A  new  Americanism  moves  the  nation. 
The  spirit  of  Service,  electrified  by  war, 
stirs  in  every  heart.  A  new  faith  prom- 
ises new  ideas,  new  standards,  new  ideab. 

Make  way  for  progress ! 


Immediately  after  the  armistice  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  ran  in  the  newspapers  a  series  of  advertisements 
designed  to  stabilize  public  sentiment  and  help  in 
keeping  the  nation  and  its  affairs  on  an  even  keel. 
This  is  the  third  ad  in  that  series. 


until  the  present  day.  Doubtless,  many  people 
on  seeing  the  shades  drawn  in  all  the  show  win- 
dows of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  store  on  Sun- 
days have  wondered  why  this  was  so.     Here, 

then,  is  the  ex- 
planation. 

Marshall  Field 
had  other  ideas 
in  regard  to  ad- 
vertising which 
are  well  worthy 
of  attention.  He 
looked  upon  ad- 
vertising as  an 
essential  part  of 
the  store's  ser- 
vice to  its  com- 
munity, holding 
it  to  be  as  impor- 
tant to  give  the 
public  informa- 
tion about  the 
goods  as  it  is  to 
provide  the  mer- 
chandise. 

The  dominant 
note  of  the  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co. 
publicity,  there- 
fore, in  the  days 
when  Mr.  Field 
directed  the  ad- 
vertising was  — 
as  it  still  is  — 
to  give  infor- 
mation, rather 
than  to  induce 
immediate  purchases.  Direct  results  in  sales, 
traceable  to  the  advertising  of  that  particular 
moment,  were  only  in  a  fractional  degree  the 
end  that  was  sought.  The  idea  that  was  in 
large  measure  back  of  the  publicity  was  that 
whenever  the  store  had  made  contact  with  a 


76 


Advertising  Policies  of  the  Retail  Store 


n 


new  customer  it  had  created  the  opportunity 
for  trade  with  that  customer  extending  over  a 
long  period  of  years. 

In  the  early  days,  when  his  store  was  of 
moderate  size,  Mr.  Field  personally  directed 
the  advertising.  He  even  used  to  give  out  the 
copy  to  the  newspapers.  He  was  extremely 
watchful  as  to  the  statements  made  in  each 
and  every  advertisement  coming  from  his 
store.  He  used  to  say  that  a  merchant  or  a 
firm  ought  no  more  to  misrepresent  or  mis- 
state in  an  advertisement  than  in  a  personally 
written  letter.  Statements  made  in  an  adver- 
tisement, he  also  used  to  aver,  were  like  giv- 
ing a  note.  They  must  be  lived  up  to,  just 
as  if  they  were  the  merchant's  bond. 

The  first  word  of  instruction  he  gave  to 
those  who  were  to  write  and  otherwise  pre- 
pare the  ads  for  the  printer  was:  "Say  less 
than  you  can  conscientiously  say,  rather  than 
more.  Then  those  who  buy  the  goods  will 
say,  'It  is  better  than  I  thought.' 

"Don't  bring  customers  in  with  over- 
statement," Mr.  Field  would  add;  and  time 
after  time  his  blue  pencil  went  through  some 
over-enthusiastic  statement  written  or  passed 
by  his  advertising  manager.  Confidence  on 
the  part  of  the  public  Mr.  Field  regarded  as 
the  chief  asset  of  a  business,  and  any  act  that 
tended  to  destroy  confidence  he  strenuously 
discouraged. 

"Try  to  make  every  transaction  a  means  of 
increasing  confidence,"  he  would  emphatically 
and  frequently  direct. 

It  was  because  of  these  convictions,  which 
lay  so  close  to  his  heart,  that  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  in  1902  took  the  radical  step  of  elimi- 
nating comparative  prices.  This  action  has 
since  been  taken  by  a  number  of  retail  stores 
in  various  centers. 

Whether  such  a  policy  is  desirable  or  not  is 
still  a  subject  of  controversy  among  retail 
merchants  and  publicity  pien,  however.  It  is 
proof,  therefore,  of  the  courage  of  Mr.  Field 
and  his  immediate  associates  of  nearly  a  score 
of  years  ago  that  they  were  the  pioneers  in 
this  direction  of  "no  comparative  prices,"  as 
in  so  many  others. 


Another  view  held  by  Mr.  Field  which  in- 
fluenced the  advertising  policy  of  his  firm  was 
this:  That  there  is  a  natural  drift  toward  the 
most  conspicuous  institution.  He  realized  that 
if  a  store  is  just  one  of  a  crowd  it  will  get  an 
average  business  little  above  that  of  its  near- 
est competitors,  but  that  if  the  store  succeeds 
in  rising  only  a  little  above  its  competitors  in 
the  public  esteem  it  will  draw  additional  busi- 
ness far  in  excess  of  the  extra  outlay  through 
which  that  new  business  was  obtained. 

With  this  in  mind,  there  were  occasions  on 
which  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  purposely  did 
things  which  looked  extravagant  or  actually 
did  involve  a  very  large  sum. 

In  1902,  in  connection  with  the  opening  of 
the  additional  store  building,  souvenirs  were 
given  out  in  character  and  in  quantities  that 
must  have  run  into  a  large  sum  of  money  for 
those  days.  Looking  through  the  dusty  ad- 
vertising files  of  that  year,  in  one  corner  of 
the  present  store's  attic,  the  editor  of  the 
Economist  found  the  advertisements  in  con- 
nection with  that  event.  And  pasted  in  the 
scrapbook  along  with  the  ads  was  a  generous 
write-up  of  the  new  addition  and  the  opening. 

From  this  we  learned  that  the  Field  store 
gave  away  on  the  day  of  the  opening  $10,000 
in  silver  souvenir  spoons  and  silver  pin  trays 
There  were  also  given  to  customers  and  visit- 
ors vast  numbers  of  souvenir  postcards.  To 
these  were  added  100,000  colored  pictureSt 
and  also  quantities  of  lithographs  showing 
the  retail  store  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  as  it 
then  was.  And  not  content  with  all  these 
various  forms  of  souvenirs  the  store  also  pre- 
sented to  visitors  in  commemoration  of  the 
occasion  bird's-eye  views  of  Chicago,  each 
view  neatly  rolled  in  a  pasteboard  tube. 

Five  years  later — about  the  time  of  the 
opening  of  another  new  building — we  find 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  publishing  a  newspaper 
page  ad  showing  little  more  than  a  beautiful 
wash  drawing  by  Harrison  Fisher,  one  of 
the  most  prominent  artists  of  that  day.  Other 
Field  advertisements  of  that  day  show  a  signed 
drawing  by  Frank  Lyendecker  or  some  other 
celebrated  illustrator. 

It  was  also  the  practise  with  Marshall  Field 


\ 


78 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


&  Co.  in  the  early  days  of  the  present  century 
to  advertise  the  most  expensive  things  in  a 
way  that  seemed  to  indicate  that  despite  their 
high  cost  the  store  management  expected  peo- 
ple to  rush  right  in  and  buy  them. 

ANOTHER  tenet  of  Mr.  Field's  was  that  it 
was  good  policy  to  put  the  thought  of 
the  store  as  a  whole  before  the  public  with  a 
view  to  building  up 
good-will  and  creat- 
ing the  concept  that 
Field's  was  a  good 
store  in  which  to  do 
all  of  one's  trading. 
He,  therefore,  was 
a  strong  believer  in 
institutional  adver- 
tising as  a  means  of 
letting  the  people 
know  more  about  the 
store  and  think  more 
favorably  of  it. 

Looking  again  at 
the  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  advertising  of 
1902,  we  find  that  it 
had  many  of  the  fea- 
tures of  good  pub- 
licity of  the  present 
day.  Besides  the  illustrative  matter  above 
mentioned  there  was  a  great  deal  of  really 
high-class  art  work.  There  was  the  use  of 
the  editorial.  The  page  ads  were  skillfully 
laid  out.  The  type  faces  were  well  selected 
and  the  typography  was  excellent. 

Where  these  old-time  ads  differ  from  those 
of  the  present  day  is  in  the  decidedly  limited 
use  of  white  space.  The  page  ads  look 
crowded,  and  all  the  more  so  because  the  news- 
paper advertising  of  so  many  department 
stores  in  this  year  of  grace  1921  reminds  one 
of  the  familiar  quotation  relative  to  books  in 
which  "a  neat  rivulet  of  text  meanders  through 
a  meadow  of  margin." 

In  contrast  with  the  large-space,  general 
advertisements,  the  three-column,  small  space 
ads  exploiting  goods  of  only  one  department 


A  department  head  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s 
retail,  who  has  been  with  the  firm  over  thirty 
years,  treasures  this  souvenir,  a  metal  ash  or 
pin  tray  in  silver  and  gold  finish,  thousands  of 
which  were  given  away  at  the  opening  of  the 
completed  store  as  it  noiv  stands,  on  Sept.  30, 
1907 


are  almost  as  "open"  and  as  effective-looking 
as  ads  of  similar  size  of  the  present  day.  As 
far  back  as  1907  there  was  considerable  use 
of  this  department  advertising  by  Marshall 
Field  &  Co. 

The  policies  and  aims  which  actuated  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  in  their  advertising  during 
earlier  years  are  the  guides  in  the  firm's  ad- 
vertising methods  of  the  present  day.  In  the 
newspaper  advertis- 
ing the  purpose  is  not 
solely  or  directly  the 
selling  of  merchan- 
dise. A  great  deal  of 
space  (and  that 
means  the  expendi- 
ture of  large  sums  of 
money)  is  devoted  to 
making  clear  the  in- 
stitutional nature  of 
the  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  business  and  the 
ideals  by  which  the 
firm  is  actuated. 

Editorials  are  a 
feature  of  the  adver- 
tising almost  daily, 
and  these  in  many  in- 
stances deal  with  the 
store  itself  or  with 
its  m.erchandise  only  in  so  far  as  the  last 
paragraph,  or  it  may  be  the  last  line,  points 
the  application.  In  some  cases  the  sole  link 
between  what  has  been  written  and  printed 
and  the  firm  and  their  institution  is  the  sig- 
nature of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 

This  was  especially  the  case  in  much  of 
the  advertising  during  the  world  war,  as  it 
has  also  been  subsequently.  Immediately  after 
the  armistice  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  ran  in  the 
newspapers  a  series  of  advertisements  de- 
signed to  stabilize  public  sentiment  and  help 
in  keeping  the  nation  and  its  affairs  on  an 
even  keel. 

The  first  advertisement  in  this  series  was 
entitled  "Peace!  A  signal  for  the  Great 
Start."  The  subject  of  the  next  was  "Look- 
ing Ahead."    The  idea  carried  out  in  the  text 


Advertising  Policies  of  the  Retail  Store 


79 


of  this  advertisement  was  to  the  effect  that 
the  signing  of  peace  was  the  signal  for  busi- 
ness and  industry  to  take  the  helm.  Emphasis 
was  laid  on  the  need  for  the  spirit  of  service 
which  had  actuated  people  during  the  war  be- 
ing maintained  and  even  intensified  during- 
peace. 

This  same  need  was  stressed  in  subsequent 
announcements  of 
the  series,  for  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  felt 
strongly  that  without 
the  spirit  of  service, 
the  will  to  work,  the 
continued  acceptance 
of  self-denial  and  the 
practice  of  economy 
the  war-time  prosper- 
ity would  be  suc- 
ceeded by  a  period  of 
depression  and  dis- 
content and  of  a  gen- 
eral loosening  of  the 
old  bonds  by  which 
the  industrial  and 
commercial  fabric  of 
this  country  had  been 
held  together. 

Thus,  the  third  ad 
in  the  series  began 
with  "Reconstruc- 
tion: Let  the  wheels 
of  industry  hum!" 
The  fourth  was  en- 
titled "Our  Colossal 
Task,"  and  it  con- 
tained this  wise  coun- 
sel: "The  backbone 
of  all  enterprise  must 
be  increased  produc- 
tion." Another  issued  the  call  "America  to 
Work!"  and  stressed  the  barrenness  of 
Europe's  cupboard  and  the  need  for  in- 
creased production  on  the  part  both  of  farm- 
ers and  of  workingmen. 

Again,  on  Thanksiving  Day,  1919,  under 
the  heading  of  "Americanism,"  the  firm  pub- 
lished an  advertisement  which  in  a  few  pithy 


AvirA"'  n^^^muui^  and 


Even  the  envelopes  in  which  small  articles 
are  handed  to  customers  are' artificially  adorned 
isnth  advertising  matter  in  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.'s  retail  store.  This  one  is  made  of  manila 
paper  and  is  printed  in  black  and  red. 


sentences  set  forth  reasons  for  pride  and  grati- 
tude on  the  part  of  Americans  and  also  on  the 
part  of  our  alien  population,  because  of  our 
national  wealth  and  still  more  because  of  our 
American  ideals.  The  purpose  of  the  firm's 
words  was  to  strengthen  confidence  on  the 
part  of  loyal  people  throughout  the  nation  and 
to  sound  a  note  of  warning  among  the  disloyal 
element. 

This  advertise- 
ment elicited  from 
the  Milwaukee  Senti- 
nel an  editorial  ex- 
pression of  warm  ad- 
miration and  appre- 
ciation. 

The  keen  effort  to 
avoid  misrepresenta- 
tion, as  embodied 
in  the  elimina- 
tion  of  comparative 
prices  in  1902,  is  ex- 
erted just  as  sedul- 
ously and  just  as 
continuously  to-day. 
Conferences  between 
the  merchandise 

manager  of  the  retail 
store,  its  section 
heads  and  its  adver- 
tising manager  are 
taking  place  more  or 
less  constantly.  This 
is  made  easier  by  the 
fact  that  the  mer- 
chandise manager 
and  the  head  of  the 
advertising  bureau 
occupy  adjoining 
offices. 
Merchandise  department  heads  when  seek- 
ing advertising  space  for  special  offerings  are 
in  numerous  instances  required  to  send  a 
sample  of  the  goods  to  the  advertising  bureau. 
If  any  doubt  is  felt  there  as  to  the  accuracy 
of  the  department  head's  beliefs  or  claims, 
a  member  of  the  store's  comparison  depart- 
ment is  sent  out  to   ascertain   the   character 


80 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


\ 


and  price  of  similar  wares  in  other  stores. 
Such  investigations  are  seldom  required. 
The  prevalence  of  the  Field  spirit  throughout 
the  store  as  a  rule  insures  accuracy  and  fair- 
ness of  statement  by  the  department  heads. 
Nothing  is  left  to  chance  or  accident,  how- 
ever, for  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  business 
has  been  built  from  the  very  start  on  confi- 
dence on  the  part  of  the  public  in  the  store 
and  its   merchandise   and  this  confidence   is 


safeguarded  by  men  who  realize   its  inesti- 
mable value. 

It  is  only  fair  and  proper  to  mention  here 
that  this  same  effort  to  insure  to  the  customer 
absolutely  fair  and  just  treatment  is  pursued 
just  as  closely,  constantly  and  intelligently  in 
the  wholesale  branch  of  the  business  as  in  the 
retail.  It  is  part  of  the  Field  policy  and,  in 
the  very  nature  of  things,  it  permeates  the  en- 
tire institution. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
INDIVIDUALITY  IN  ADVERTISING  AND  ATTRACTIONS 


OF  the  several  forms  of  advertising  by 
means  of  the  printed  word  newspaper 
publicity  is  regarded  by  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  as  the  most  important. 

This  form  of  advertising  has  two  main  di- 


visions. The  one  applies  to  the  general  de- 
partment store,  the  other  to  the  Store  for 
Men.  The  publicity  for  the  latter  is  designed 
to  typify  strength,  virility,  masculinity;  the 
former  varies  in  type,  as  department  store  ad- 


Artistry,  dignity  and  prestige-building  power  are  characteristics 
of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  newspaper  ads  dealing  with  particular  lines 
or  events.     An  example  taken  at  random  from  a  large  collection. 

81 


82 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


vertising  must,  in  the  very  nature  of  things, 
according  to  the  season,  the  period  of  the 
year,  the  merchandise  advertised,  the  purpose 
of  the  ad,  and  other  considerations. 

In  the  newspaper  advertising  illustration 
plays  a  prominent  part.  The  editorial  is  also 
effectively  employed. 

The  advertising  of  merchandise  for  men 
frequently  turns  on  some  current  affair  in  the 
sports  world.  One  Saturday  during  the  sum- 
mer an  important  polo  game  was  to  take  place 
in  Chicago.  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  ad  in  the 
newspapers  of  that  morning,  directed  at  the 
men,  showed  a  spirited  illustration  of  polo 
players  in  action,  while  the  type  matter  had 
reference  to  a  few  definite  lines  of  men's  mer- 
chandise. 

The  advertising  for  men  is  invariably  run 
in  a  separate  part  of  the  newspaper  from  that 
which  is  of  a  general  character  or  which 
makes  its  appeal  to  women.  Advertising  ad- 
dressed to  men  is  published  daily. 

One  of  the  most  noteworthy  features  of 
the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  newspaper  advertis- 
ing is  the  advertisement  for  children,  pub- 
lished once  a  week  in  the  evening  papers.  This 
advertisement  occupies  a  page  or  so  and  al- 
ways bears  the  title  "Juvenile  World,"  with 
the  sub-head,  "Published  for  Boys  and  Girls 
and  Their  Parents."  The  advertisement  is 
written  for  children,  and  in  one  or  two  in- 
stances the  page  has  carried  an  editorial  writ- 
ten by  a  child.  It  is  based  on  the  idea  that 
anything  which  really  appeals  to  the  child  will 
also  appeal  to  grown-ups. 

This  method  of  reaching  the  children  was 
started  in  the  fall  of  1919,  and,  like  many 
other  ideas  originated  by  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.,  it  has  since  been  followed  by  several  other 
stores. 

Besides  their  newspaper  advertising  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  have,  for  many  years,  been 
accustomed  to  publish  numerous  booklets, 
folders,  and  other  attractive  forms  of  pub- 
licity. One  of  the  most  prominent  of  these 
is  the  fashion  magazine  for  consumers'  read- 
ing. It  is  entitled  "Fashions  of  the  Hour," 
and  took  the  place  of  a  number  of  booklets 


formerly  published  at  more  or  less  regular  in- 
tervals. 

"Fashions  of  the  Hour"  is  issued  six  times 
a  year.  In  typography  and  art  work  it  vies 
with  the  highest-class  monthlies.  Its  reading 
matter  also  compares  most  favorably  with 
theirs,  and  it  is  as  accurate  and  as  authentic 
as  regards  its  fashion  news.  This  is  true 
even  though  most  of  the  pages  deal  with  mat- 
ters that  are  of  more  direct  interest  to  the 
women  who  shop  at  the  Field  store,  including 
merchandise  on  sale  (sometimes  with  the 
price)  or  some  article  of  merchandise  that  is 
of  especial  interest  at  the  time  of  publication. 

That  women  the  world  over  like  to  read 
"Fashions  of  the  Hour"  is  proven  by  the  num- 
ber of  copies  of  each  issue  printed  and  dis- 
tributed, viz.,  125,000.  Moreover,  an  entire 
edition  is  exhausted  within  a  week  of  its  leav- 
ing the  presses. 

Nor  is  the  magazine  of  interest  only  to 
women.  Each  issue  also  carries  reading  mat- 
ter and  illustrations  that  make  an  appeal  to 
the  men  and  tend  to  bring  them,  or  their  or- 
ders, to  the  Field  store  which  supplies  the 
needs  of  the  adolescent  or  grown-up  male 
members  of  the  family. 

Carrying  out  the  idea  of  advertising  to  the 
children,  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  publish  month- 
ly for  the  little  ones  the  "Juvenile  World 
Magazine."  It  usually  consists  of  16  pages, 
profusely  illustrated  and  printed  on  coated 
paper,  together  with  a  cover.  The  front  cover 
is  usually  in  colors.  The  illustrations  and 
reading  matter  are  such  as  will  appeal  strong- 
ly to  children.  Needless  to  say,  also,  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.'s  merchandise  is  laid  before  the 
children — and  the  parents — by  means  of  illus- 
trations and  descriptions,  with  prices. 

For  the  men  also  there  are  special  forms 
of  publicity.  One  of  the  most  ambitious  of 
these,  issued  in  1920,  is  entitled,  "Man  and 
His  Wardrobe,"  with  the  sub-title,  "An  His- 
torical Impression  of  Attire."  The  page  size 
is  a  little  over  9  by  12  in.  The  cover,  of  the 
heaviest  possible  stock,  reinforced,  is  printed 
in  black  and  gold  on  a  soft,  neutral  ground. 
In  the  upper  center  is  a  medallion  design  en- 


Individuality  in  Advertising  and  Attractions 


83 


dosing  a  silhouette,  in  black  and  white,  of  a 
man's  head  and  bust,  on  a  background  of 
bright  blue. 

On  each  left-hand  page  is  a  half-tone  from 
one  of  those  soft,  somewhat  impressionistic 
photographs  now  so  fashionable,  these  illus- 
trations showing 
transactions  be- 
tween customer 
and  salesman  in 
various  depart- 
ments. Each  of 
these  illustra- 
tions occupies 
two-thirds  of  the 
page,  with  a  wide 
margin  above  and 
on  each  side  and 
a  deeper  space 
below. 

In  this  lower 
space  are 
"thumb  -  nail" 
sketches  of  men's 
attire  during  dif- 
ferent historical 
periods,  with 
brief  explanatory 
notes  in  six-point 
italic. 

The  right-hand 
pages  carry  read- 
ing matter  occu- 
pying about  the 
same  space  as 
the  facing  photo 
reproduction. 

On  all  of  the 
pages  there  is  a 
border     or     rule 

effect  in  a  soft  neutral  tint,  approaching 
that  of  the  cover,  which  sets  off  the  page 
contents.  The  text  matter  has  to  do  with 
the  early  history  and  subsequent  develop- 
ment of  the  line  of  goods  to  which  the  ad- 
joining photo  relates.  There  are  31  pages 
of  reading  matter  on  a  very  high  grade  of 
heavy  stock. 


This  cover  of  one  of  the  issues  of  the  Jurvenile 
World  Magazine,  printed  in  several  colors,  is  indica- 
tive of  the  scale  on  which  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  do 
things.  Note  the  appropriate  introduction  of  the 
coat  of  arms,  which  is  a  trade-mark  with  the  Field 
firm. 


This  booklet,  or  rather  book,  has  a  strong 
appeal,  more  especially  because  of  the  draw- 
ings of  costumes  of  ancient  days.  Such  illus- 
trations are  always  of  interest  even  to  those 
who  may  be  familiar  with  costumes  of  the 
long  ago. 

Booklets  clev- 
erly written  and 
beautiful  in  their 
art  work  and 
photography  are 
brought  out  by 
Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  in  connec- 
tion with  spe- 
cial events  tak- 
ing place  in  the 
store. 

One  of  these, 
entitled  "A  Page- 
ant of  Centuries 
as  Told  in  Silks," 
was  brought  out 
in  connect  ion 
with  a  silk  exhi- 
bition held  in  the 
store  during  the 
spring  of  1920. 
Each  left-hand 
page  bears  an 
appropriate  illus- 
tration while  the 
right-hand  page 
tells  of  silks  in 
China,  Japan, 
India,  Italy, 
France  and  other 
countries. 

Still  more  elab- 
orate is  a  folder 
printed  on  heavy  stock,  with  the  text  lettered 
by  hand,  which  was  issued  in  connection  with 
the  opening  of  a  new  costume  room.  This 
folder  includes  two  exceptionally  beautiful 
illustrations  in  color,  indicative  of  the  cos- 
tume room  and  of  the  merchandise  sold 
therein. 

We  also  ha^e  before  us  a  booklet  relative 


84 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


to  correct  apparel  for  California  and  the 
South,  the  cover  of  which  is  printed  in  black 
and  gold  in  a  pine-leaf  design,  while  in  the 
center,  on  a  ground  of  gold,  is  a  conventional 
design  showing  a  vase  of  flowers  and  flying 
bluebirds. 

Under  the  title  of  "The  Romance  of  Lace," 
there  was  distributed  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co., 
in  1920,  a  booklet  containing  45  pages  of  read- 
ing matter  covering  the  history  of  lace  mak- 
ing, present  methods  of  manufacturing  with 
illustrations  from  its  own  manufacturing 
plant,  the  Zion  Lace  Industries,  and  descrip- 
tions of  the  kinds  of  laces  in  most  general  use. 

This  booklet  is  illustrated  with  views  of 
lace-making  machinery  and  with  photographic 
reproductions  of  different  kinds  of  lace. 

The  cover  is  particularly  interesting,  be- 
ing in  heavy  stock  in  a  dark  greenish  blue, 
with  a  lace  pattern  accurately  reproduced 
thereon  in  white. 

Color  work  showing  various  patterns  in 
golf  hose  and  other  sports  wear  is  employed 
in  a  booklet  which  has  on  the  cover  a  repro- 
duction of  a  cartoon  by  Briggs.  The  title  be- 
low the  cartoon  reads:  "And  then  he  took 
up  golf  and  made  a  hole  in  one." 

The  firm  also  have  a  way  of  reproducing  in 
booklets  a  number  of  the  editorials  used  in 
their  newspaper  advertisements.  One  such 
booklet  is  entitled,  "Advertising  Advertising" 
and  contains  just  a  score  of  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  advertisements. 

Going  back  to  the  booklets  dealing  with 
general  subjects,  it  is  proper  to  mention  one 
which  is  entitled  "The  Store  of  Service"  in 
which  are  described  and  illustrated  many  of 
the  features  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  retail 
store.  On  the  inside  of  the  back  cover  is  a 
view  of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  main  whole- 
sale building,  while  on  the  back  cover  proper 
is  a  map  of  a  portion  of  Chicago,  showing  the 
location  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  retail  build- 
ing and  their  wholesale  building. 

The  opening  page  of  the  booklet  is  in  color 
and  illustrates  the  dome  of  mosaic  glass  above 
the  rotunda  in  the  South  State  Street  Build- 
ing. 


Advertising  is  carried  on  by  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  even  in  the  envelopes  into  which 
small  articles  are  placed  to  be  carried  away 
by  the  purchaser.  One  of  these  envelopes 
shown  in  connection  with  Chapter  XIII, 
shows  a  skillfully  drawn  female  figure,  elab- 
orately dressed,  while  in  the  text  there  are  a 
few  words  regarding  the  careful  workman- 
ship and  numerous  betterments  pertaining  to 
all  apparel  sold  in  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
store. 

IN  addition  to  advertising  by  means  of  let- 
terpress, illustrations,  and  windows  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  frequently  have  store  at- 
tractions of  one  kind  or  another. 

Reference  has  just  been  made  to  a  silk 
exhibit.  On  another  occasion  Japanese  oper- 
atives were  employed  to  exemplify  to  visitors 
to  the  Field  store  the  methods  employed  in 
spinning  silk.  On  another  occasion  there  was 
a  display  of  silkworms  from  Italy. 

The  sections  in  the  Field  store  are  so 
spacious  that  displays  of  these  kinds  can  be 
readily  carried  on  in  the  appropriate  section 
without  interfering  with  selling. 

Recently,  in  the  underwear  section  there 
was  a  display  of  Filipino  embroidery,  the 
work  being  carried  on  by  a  man  and  two 
women  from  the  Philippines.  The  operatives 
were  housed  in  a  nipa,  as  the  Filipino  hut  is 
named  in  the  native  language. 

Once  in  the  wash  goods  section  there  was 
shown  a  loom  in  operation  making  ginghams. 

In  what  is  knovra  in  the  Field  store  as  the 
household  utilities  section — that  is,  the  one  in 
which  are  sold  household  goods  and  especially 
vacuum  cleaners,  washers,  ironers,  kitchen 
cabinets,  electrical  cookers,  percolators  and 
other  electrical  goods — there  was  held  some 
time  ago  a  Labor  Saving  Exhibition.  This 
show  was  designed  to  make  known  to  the  pub- 
lic the  many  ways  in  which  science  has  light- 
ened the  burden  of  the  woman  who  does  her 
own  housework  and  has  simplified  the  servant 
problem. 

An  explanatory  and  informing  booklet  was 
issued  in  connection  with  this  event. 


Individuality  in  Advertising  and  Attractions 


85 


In  this  Household  Utilities  section  there  is 
employed  the  year  'round  a  young  woman 
f  known  as  "The  Girl  in  the  Cap  and  Apron." 
\  She  holds  court  in  a  kitchen,  which  is  open, 
)  and  in  front  of  which  there  is  a  gallery  of 
/  chairs  for  visitors.  In  this  kitchen  she  lec- 
l  tures  on  foods,  cookery  and  serving,  and  con- 
ducts a  series  of  demonstrations.  She  also 
stands  ready  at  all  times  to  answer  questions 
and  to  give  advice  on  all  household  matters. 

At  intervals,  too,  "The  Girl  in  the  Cap  and 
Apron"  has  the  assistance  of  two  domestic 
science  graduates. 

On  the  main  floor  there  is  an  office  occu- 
.  pied  by  a  lady  who  is  known  as  the  Gift  Secre- 
/  tary.  She  acts  as  the  confidante  for  those 
)  who  wish  to  give  a  present  to  some  one  but 
(  who  find  themselves  unable  to  make  a  suitable 
selection. 

This  Gift  Secretary  will  write  to  the  re- 
spective recipient  of  the  gift  telling  them  of 
the  circumstance,  without  disclosing  the  name 
of  the  donor.  When  the  donor  does  not  wish 
this  done  the  Gift  Secretary  will  personally 
give  advice  as  to  the  selection  of  a  suitable 
present. 

This  idea  was  adopted  as  a  temporary  serv- 
ice about  two  years  ago.  It  proved  so  accept- 
able to  the  public  that  it  was  made  continuous. 

The  Field  store  makes  welcome  those  who 
desire  advice  on  how  to  give  a  party  or  to 
celebrate  some  event.  Counsel  of  this  kind  is 
given  in  what  is  known  as  the  "Party  and 
Favor  Bureau."  The  visitor  who  asks  for 
counsel  is  not  required  or  called  upon  to  make 
a  purchase  in  the  bureau  or  in  the  store,  yet 
the  bureau  will  furnish  the  idea  and  plan  as  to 
how  it  is  to  be  carried  out. 

There  is  a  Shopping  Bureau,  designed  to 
aid  customers  who  have  not  time  to  supply 
their  wants  by  personal  visits  to  diflferent  de- 
partments. Those  who  do  the  shopping  in 
customers'  behalf  are  sedulous  in  taking  care 
that  all  selections  are  made  with  the  interests 
of  the  customer  in  mind. 

There  is  also  a  Home  Furnishings  Bureau 
which  gives  information  and  advice  relative 
to  the  decoration  of  the  home. 


One  of  the  especially  effective  attractions 
carried  out  in  the  Field  store  is  the  Book 
Fair. 

The  first  of  these  was  held  in  the  fall  of 
1919,  in  the  book  department.  There  were  in 
attendance  twelve  authors  from  out  of  town 
and  a  number  of  local  and  out-of-town  pub- 
lishers. This  Book  Fair  was  entirely  devoid 
of  a  commercial  flavor,  and  had  all  the  char- 
acteristics of  a  social  affair,  the  visitors  hav- 
ing an  opportunity  of  meeting  and  convers- 
ing with  the  authors  and  publishers. 

Largely  because  of  the  absence  of  a  com- 
mercial flavor  as  well  as  because  of  the  new- 
ness of  the  idea  at  that  time,  the  affair  at- 
tracted a  great  deal  of  favorable  comment 
in  the  newspapers  of  Chicago  and  near-by 
centers. 

During  the  last  two  years  or  so  special 
efforts  in  the  direction  of  publicity  through 
store  attractions  have  been  exerted  by  the 
juvenile  department.  These  efforts  began  with 
an  Easter  party,  which  was  held  in  1919.  At 
that  time  various  affairs  calculated  to  appeal 
to  young  people  and  children  were  carried  on 
in  the  book  department,  in  the  tea  room  and 
on  the  floor  devoted  to  the  sale  of  juvenile 
wear  and  accessories.  Any  section,  however,, 
which  carried  goods  which  could  be  used  by 
children  or  for  children  was  called  upon  to< 
"do  its  bit."  This  idea  has  since  been  carried 
out  in  various  ways. 

During  the  school  year,  every  Saturday  \ 
morning,  children  come  to  the  store  as  guests 
of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  All  receive  the  same 
treatment,  whether  they  or  their  parents  be- 
come purchasers  or  otherwise.  The  idea  is  to 
so  treat  the  children  that  they  will  grow  up 
with  a  real  love  for  the  store. 

Three  weeks  before  St.  Valentine's  Day  a 
Valentine  Party  was  held  for  the  little  ones. 
A  two-act  play  for  children  was  given,  and 
this  play  was  printed  in  a  booklet.  Instruc- 
tions as  to  how  the  costumes  could  be  made 
and  illustrations  of  the  costumes  were  in- 
cluded in  this  booklet. 

One  of  the  latest  developments  is  what  is 
known  as  the  "Field  Nature  Section."     Chil- 


86 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


dren  are  encouraged  to  bring  in  butterflies 
and  other  "finds"  from  Nature's  haunts  and 
receive  information  regarding  them. 

It  is  noteworthy  in  this  connection  that 
stylish,  well-to-do  people  are  the  ones  who, 
with  their  children,  are  principally  brought 
into  the  store  by  such  attractions  as  above 
mentioned. 

Measures  are  taken  to  link  up  the  Juvenile 
section  with  the  Girl  Scouts,  the  Camp  Fire 
Girls,  the  Boy  Scouts  and  other  large  organ- 
izations of  young  people,  the  idea  being  to 
make  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  retail,  headquar- 
ters for  such  bodies  by  having  the  store  at  all 
times  in  a  position  to  give  information  and 
counsel  as  to  the  holding  of  meetings  or  other 
gatherings. 

One  noteworthy  affair  was  Indian  Week, 
held  in  the  Field  store,  for  the  Boy  Scouts. 
On  Washington's  Birthday,  1921,  the  Girl 
Scouts  were  entertained  and  the  life  of  Wash- 
ington was  discussed  from  the  angle  of  con- 


servation, it  being  pointed  out  that  Washing- 
ton himself  had  done  much  for  conservation 
in  his  day. 

Efforts  have  also  been  made  by  the  juve- 
nile section  to  educate  teachers  and  mothers 
in  the  importance  of  toys  in  children's  de- 
velopment, both  mental  and  physical  and  to 
induce  parents  and  teachers  to  realize  that 
toys  are  an  essential  aid  in  the  child's  de- 
velopment. During  the  pre-Christmas  period 
of  1920  an  experienced  kindergartner  was 
employed  to  give  advice  on  the  purchase  of 
toys,  with  due  regard  to  the  child's  age  and 
temperament. 

So  widespread  has  become  the  knowledge 
of  what  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  are  doing  in 
the  children's  behalf  that  on  various  oc- 
casions prominent  men  from  other  coun- 
tries passing  through  Chicago  have  volun- 
tarily visited  the  store  and  talked  with  those 
having  charge  of  the  juvenile  merchandise 
and  advertising. 


CHAPTER  XV 
DISPLAY  METHODS  THAT  HAVE  WON  RENOWN 


IN  the  Marshall   Field  &  Co.   retail  store 
there  are,  in  all,  sixty-five  display  win- 
dows.     Enormous    as   this   figure    is,   the 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  windows  and  the  firm's 


tirely  new  to  the  merchandising  world.  And 
although  since  that  time  the  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  windows  have  had  many  imitators  not 
only  in  this  country  but  also  in  Europe,  the 


Perhaps  the  Most  Beautiful  IVindow  Ever  Produced. 

All  the  details  and  accessories  of  this  wonderful  setting  were  made  in  the  studio  and  workshop  of  Marshall  Field 
&  Co/s  display  department.  The  back  curtain  was  in  a  deep  shade  of  nasturtium,  the  draperies  in  bronze  brown  em- 
broidered in  gold.  The  wall_  was  covered  with  cream  silk  "with  the  design  in  colors,  in  silk  and  z'elvet  applique. 
The  furniture  was  in  turquoise  and  gold.  The  vase,  which  gives  so  striking  a  decorative  note,  was  in  light  stone 
and  a  very  pale  shade  of  verde  antique.  The  Hoor  was  finished  in  e.vact  imitation  of  ornamental  tiles.  The  un- 
usually beautiful  as  well  as  natural  figures  were  designed  and    molded    in    the    display    department's    workshop. 


display  methods  generally  have  become  re- 
nowned throughout  the  world  not  because  of 
their  quantity  but  because  of  their  character 
and  quality.  As  far  back  as  1895  the  firm  be- 
gan to  exhibit  displays  of  merchandise  that 
were  then  altogether  unique— something  en- 


Field  displays  still  stand  far  and  away  ahead 
of  those  of  any  other  store. 

There  were  good  window  displays  twenty- 
six  years  ago.  That  is,  they  were  good  from 
a  certain  standpoint.  They  attracted  atten- 
tion.    But  horseshoes  or  mill  wheels  made  of 


88 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


handkerchiefs  bore  no  relation  to  the  purpose 
for  which  the  goods  were  made,  nor  did  such 
exhibits  tend  to  create  in  the  beholder  a  de- 
sire for  a  better  or  more  attractive  handker- 
chief. Similarly,  the  crowded  windows  of 
that  day,  although  they  might  impress  the 
spectator  with  some  conception  of  the  size  of 
the  stocks  carried  in  the  store  conveyed  no 
idea  of  quality.  Nor  did  exhibits  of  that 
character  have  any  power  in  the  direction  of 
suggesting  to  the  beholder  new  ways  in  which 
the  merchandise  might  be  employed. 

The  purpose  of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
method  of  display  was  to  do  just  what  the 
ordinary  display  window  had  failed  to  accom- 
plish. In  place  of  the  mechanical  showing  of 
merchandise  in  a  mechanical  setting,  the  dis- 
play and  its  surroundings  were  conceived 
from  the  standpoint  of  art  and  also  with  due 
regard  to  a  still  more  subtle  consideration. 
This  was  that  something  of  which  we  hear  a 
great  deal  nowadays  and  to  which,  for  want  of 
a  better  name,  we  usually  refer  as  "psy- 
chology." In  other  words,  instead  of  striving 
for  a  direct  influence  or  effect,  the  Field  dis- 
play man — an  artist  himself — worked  on  the 
principle  which  actuates  all  true  artists.  This 
principle  or  plan  is: 

To  put  into  the  picture  a  something  which 
the  beholder  sees  not  with  the  eye  of  the  body 
but  with  the  eye  of  the  mind. 

Expressing  it  in  another  way,  the  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  windows  make  people  who 
see  them  think.  These  beholders  are  scarcely 
conscious  of  the  mental  process,  but  it  is 
there;  it  goes  on  perhaps  in  spite  of  the  be- 
holder's preoccupation  with  some  other  sub- 
ject. But  in  the  back  of  the  mind  the  woman 
— we  will  suppose  it  is  a  woman,  though  it 
may  be  equally  true  of  one  of  her  menfolk — 
is  thinking,  "There  is  an  idea  that  I  could 
have  worked  out  in  my  home,"  or  "That  dress 
is  just  the  right  combination  of  materials  and 
colors;  I  see  now  how  I  ought  to  have  mine 
made  if  I  am  to  get  the  proper  effect." 

But  the  Field  display  man  wanted  to  go 
further  than  this.  He  desired  also  to  express 
the  quality  of  the  merchandise  carried  in  the 


store.  As  he  explained  it  in  talking  over  the 
matter  with  the  editor  of  the  Dry  Goods 
Economist  some  time  ago : 

"One  must  have  a  due  sense  of  proportion 
and  values.  If  you  have  a  $150,000  dining- 
room  you  must  have  a  chef  or  a  caterer  cap- 
able of  serving  a  meal  in  consonance  with 
the  surroundings.  In  this  establishment,  in 
which  millions  are  invested,  anything  we  do 
must  be  proportionate  with  the  establishment^ 
itself." 

With  this  idea  in  mind,  right  from  the 
inauguration  of  the  new  method  wonderful 
settings  for  the  displays  were  conceived  and 
produced.  Skilled  artists — painters  and  sculp- 
tors— were  called  in  from  time  to  time.  They 
were  directed,  moreover,  by  the  display  man- 
ager, who,  through  his  constant  study  of  the 
subject,  had  learned  exactly  what  style  of 
architecture  or  of  furniture  was  appropriate 
for  the  exploiting  of  dresses  or  costumes 
whose  creators  had  gone  to  this,  that  or  the 
other  source  for  their  inspiration. 

If  the  dress  showed  the  influence  of  the 
Louis  XIV  styles,  then  the  setting  was  cor- 
rectly along  the  lines  of  that  period,  or  if 
what  are  known  as  Empire  fashions  were  in 
favor  and  were  displayed,  then  the  back- 
ground, the  hangings  and  the  furniture  and 
all  other  accessories  recalled  the  splendid 
simplicity  of  the  ancient  classic  Greece  and 
Rome,  from  which  the  dress  and  costume  de- 
signers of  the  First  Empire  period  in  France 
went  for  their  models. 

In  the  preparation  of  these  settings  no  ex- 
pense was  spared.    Yet  in  them  was  displayed 
perhaps  but  a  single  garment  with  a  few  ac- 
cessories  that  might  appropriately   be  worn   J 
therewith. 

As  the  years  have  gone  by  the  care  given 
to  the  devising  and  the  installation  of  dis- 
plays has  been  augmented  and  the  facilities 
for  their  production  have  been  increased. 
Seldom  or  never  is  a  setting  the  result  of 
sudden  inspiration.  The  actual  result  is  pre- 
ceded by  a  long  period  of  thoughtful  prepara- 
tion. 

Where   "period"   designs   are  to   be   em- 


Display  Methods  That  Have  Won  Renown 


89 


ployed  a  careful  study  of  the  architecture, 
decoration  and  dress  of  that  period  is  under- 
taken. After  the  atmosphere  of  the  period 
has  been  fully  absorbed  it  is  reproduced  not 


term,  but  also  of  sculptors,  painters  (using 
the  word  in  the  artistic  sense) ,  carpenters,  and 
so  forth. 

Twenty   display  men   are   constantly   em- 


A  Persian  Setting  Adapted  to  Display  of  Modern  Gowns 
Changeable  color  effects  in   green,   blue  and  purples  with   iridescent  and   high   lights   in   orange,   salmon,   lavender 
and  gold,   was  the  color  scheme.     The   elaborate  pillars  were    in   polychrome.      The    drapery   was    in    dark   green   ana 
blue   with    metallic    orvaments.      The    arch   and    background  uere  of  silk,  while  the  moldings  were  colored  to  represent 
metals  in  polychrome  effect. 


in  the  form  of  slavish  copying  or  even  of 
imitation,  but  in  new  and  original  designs 
which  while  reflecting  the  influence  of  the 
past,  blend  naturally  and  gracefully  with  the 
modern  attire  or  home  decoration,  or  what- 
ever it  may  be  that  forms  the  practical  fea- 
ture of  the  display. 

THE  personnel  of  the  display  department 
embraces  a  large  force  not  only  of  win- 
dow trimmers,   in  the  stricter  sense  of  the 


ployed  in  dressing  windows.  There  is  an 
average  force,  in  addition,  of  ten  painters, 
three  "casters,"  producing  plaster  statues  and 
other  decorations,  and  five  carpenters.  This 
force  requires  a  large  space  in  which  to  work, 
and  height  as  well  as  longitudinal  space  is 
accepted  as  essential  for  the  development  of 
backgrounds.  In  some  instances  the  back- 
grounds are  fully  18  ft.  high. 

During  a  recent  visit  of  the  Dry  Goods 
Economist's   editor    an    artist    was    at   work 


90 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


on  a  background  15  ft.  square — a  landscape 
with  branching  trees  against  the  sky  and 
blossoms  on  the  boughs.  Near  at  hand  stood 
the  sketch  on  a  small  scale  by  which  the 
painter  was  guided.  This  was  but  one  ex- 
ample of  the  minute  care  with  which  all  the 
decorative  designs  are  conceived  and  worked 
out. 

It  is  one  man's  job  to  assemble  and  put 
away  the  figures  in  wax  or  composition,  after 
they  have  been  used.  Others  take  care  of  the 
wax  heads  and  hands  and  keep  them  constant- 
ly in  the  best  possible  condition.  There  is  also 
a  workroom  in  which  women  are  employed, 
when  necessary  in  sewing  or  embroidering  ma- 
terials to  be  used  in  display  settings. 

Each  window  is  regarded  as  a  room  or  a 
small  stage,  and  that  room  or  stage  is  deco- 
rated and  furnished  in  strict  accord  and 
harmony  with  the  merchandise  which  is  to  be 
displayed  therein. 

We  noted  a  model  of  the  State  and  Wash- 
ington Streets  corner  window  which  forms  the 
setting  for  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  most  re- 
markable displays,  and  nearby  were  models  of 
other  windows.  Everything  is  worked  out 
beforehand  in  these  model  windows  and  draw- 
ings are  made  to  scale,  so  that  when  the  time 
for  installation  arrives  each  part  and  accessory 
fits  accurately  into  its  proper  place. 

The  spacious  room  in  which  these  model 
windows  are  kept  is  an  artist's  studio  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  and  in  it  one  finds  many 
examples  of  the  wonderful  work  in  carving, 
casting,  sculpture  and  painting  carried  on  in 
the  department. 

Frequently  the  cost  of  the  backgrounds 
and  accessories  runs  into  several  thousands 
of  dollars.  In  one  instance,  forms  for  the  dis- 
play of  gowns  were  modeled  by  a  sculptor  not 
singly  but  with  the  entire  group  of  figures  in 
mind.  The  poses  were  not  only  natural  but 
each  figure  had  its  due  relationship  to  the  oth- 
ers. There  was  a  total  absence  of  stiffness; 
there  were  none  of  those  bizarre  poses  or  atti- 
tudes which  are  but  too  common  in  the  display 
windows  of  stores  where  the  importance  of  de- 
tails is  unrecognized. 


In  fact,  the  Field  windows  are  really 
works  of  art  in  many  instances,  and  any  art 
lover  will  stand  long  before  them  and  drink 
in  their  attractiveness  and  charm,  just  as  he 
would  linger  in  front  of  an  exquisite  painting 
or  sculptured  figure  treasured  in  some  art  / 
museum. 

This,  in  part,  tells  the  story  of  the  new 
display  method  which  has  come  to  be  known 
the  world  over  as  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
type  of  window.  Not  by  any  means  the  least 
remarkable  part  of  the  story,  however,  is  the 
fact  that  the  artist-display  man  who  origi- 
nated the  style  was  discovered  twenty-six 
years  ago  by  one  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s 
road  salesmen.  This  man,  who  is  still  at  the 
head  of  the  display  department  of  the  retail 
store,  was  at  that  time  employed  in  a  small 
store  in  a  little  town  in  Iowa,  where  he  was 
doing  all  kinds  of  work,  in  addition  to  win- 
dow dressing.  His  work  having  been  brought 
to  the  attention  of  Mr.  Shedd  the  young  man 
entered  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  organization, 
and  ever  since  that  time  the  Field  displays 
while  adhering  to  the  type  they  have  made 
famous,  have  continued  to  grow  in  beauty,  in 
uniqueness  and  in  character.  For  the  young 
man  of  twenty-six  years  ago,  as  above  stated, 
still  designs  and  directs  them,  and,  like  all 
the  successful  men  in  the  Field  organization, 
he  has  kept  up  to  date,  ever  striving  for  the 
new,  the  better,  and  the  best. 

Thus  it  is,  too,  that  wherever  one  goes — 
in  America,  in  Europe,  even  in  the  Antipodes, 
one  hears  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  windows. 
Constantly  one  hears  also  the  name  of  the 
firm  applied  to  displays  of  a  certain  type. 
The  displays  in  question  perhaps  do  not  ap- 
proximate in  any  degree  the  Field  creations, 
either  in  the  character  of  the  merchandise  or 
of  the  setting.  Every  dry  goods  man  knows, 
however,  what  is  meant  by  the  term  "a  Mar- 
shall Field  window,"  and  it  is  probable  that 
as  long  as  there  are  display  windows  in  dry 
goods  stores  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  style 
of  setting  and  arrangement  will  be  followed 
and  men  will  describe  that  type  of  window  by 
the  name  of  the  great  Chicago  firm. 


Display  Methods  That  Have  Won  Renown 


91 


Retail  merchants  everywhere  will  be  in- 
terested in  learning  that  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  do  not  link  up  their  windows  with  their 
advertising,  as  is  done  by  many  stores.  When 
a  special  sale  is  held,  for  example,  it  is  cus- 
tomary with  many  retailers  to  make  a  most 
extensive  showing  of  the  kind  of  merchandise 
that  is  being  offered  at  unusually  attractive 
prices.  If  it  is  silks,  a  whole  battery  of  win- 
dows shows  that  kind  of  fabrics. 

That  is  not  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  way. 
Their  policy,  as  we  already  have  endeavored 
to  make  clear,  is  to  use  the  windows  for  dis- 
playing the  newest  and  the  finest  of  wares  and 
creations  and  to  maintain  among  the  public 
the  conviction  that  Field's  stands  first,  last 
and  all  the  time  for  quality — quality  because 
of  honesty  and  care  in  construction,  because  of 
accurate  interpretation  of  the  fashion  trend,  or 
due  to  whatever  other  factor  it  may  be  that 
makes  the  merchandise  fit  in  every  way  for 
the  purpose  for  which  it  is  to  be  purchased 
and  consumed. 

Another  method  that  is  well  worth  noting 
is  this :  that  windows  are  not  used  indiscrimi- 
nately for  this,  that  or  the  other  kind  of  mer- 
chandise. The  windows  of  the  State  Street 
front,  together  with  those  in  the  Randolph 
Street  and  Washington  Street  fronts  of  the 
State  Street  building,  all  the  way  from 
Washington  to  Randolph,  are  employed  only 
for  the  displaying  of  women's,  misses'  and 
children's  apparel  and  accessories,  such  as 
millinery,  neckwear,  dainty  handbags  and  so 
forth. 

The  Randolph  Street  front  of  the  Wabash 


Avenue  building  and  the  Wabash  Avenue 
front  of  that  building  are  invariably  the  lo- 
cation for  window  displays  of  home  decora- 
tions and  house  furnishings.  In  the  Wash- 
ington Street  front  of  the  Wabash  Avenue 
building  is  the  window  space  for  jewelry, 
leather  goods,  stationery,  combs  and  similar 
lines. 

During  the  world  war  the  patriotism  and 
the  desire  to  help  in  every  way  possible  which 
actuated  the  entire  dry  goods  trade  of  this 
country  were  made  manifest  in  window  dis- 
plays urging  citizens  to  save  food,  to  contrib- 
ute liberally  to  the  Red  Cross,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
and  other  beneficent  organizations,  to  pur- 
chase Liberty  Bonds  and  to  co-operate  with 
the  Government  in  every  possible  way.  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.,  as  was  to  be  expected,  were 
active  in  this  work,  and  because  of  their  ex- 
traordinary facilities  for  designing  original, 
striking  and  impressive  displays  and  carrying 
these  out  in  the  most  effective  manner  their 
war-time  windows  attracted  attention  not 
only  in  Chicago,  but  also  in  near-by  cities  and 
towns  to  which  word  of  these  exhibits  was 
carried  by  thousands  of  people  who  had  vis- 
ited the  store  and  been  deeply  impressed  both 
by  the  displays  themselves  and  the  messages 
thus  conveyed. 

These  displays  represented  in  the  broad 
sense  the  application  of  that  public  spirit  by 
which  the  firm  is  actuated  and  which,  as  a 
subsequent  chapter  will  show,  has  been  clearly 
exemplified  throughout  many  years  in  all  the 
channels  through  which  its  dealings  with  the 
public  are  carried  on. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
TRAINING  OF  EMPLOYEES  AND  PERSONNEL  WORK 


BRIEF  reference  has  been  made  in  earlier 
chapters    to    the    methods    adopted    by 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  in  connection  with 
the  training  of  employees  in  the  retail  store. 
In  1912  this  form  of  activity  began  to  take 
on  a  more  definite  and  extensive  character. 


In  the  third  year  the  course  vifas  extended 
to  include  some  study  of  textiles  and  also  of 
the  policies  and  methods  of  the  concern. 

Later  on  the  educational  system  was  fur- 
ther broadened  so  as  to  take  in  older  em- 
ployees.    Inasmuch  as  among  those  who  de- 


!ff?  ^Tim, 


Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  main  retail  establishmeitt  as  it  is  today. 

The  view  shows  the  Wabash  Avenue  and  Washington  Street  fronts,  including  the  buildings  north  of  the  first  annex, 
which  were  completed  in  1906  and  are  known  as  the  Middle  Wabash  and  the  North  Wabash.  The  State  Street 
front  was  shown  in  connection  with  Chapter  IX. 


In  that  year  fifty  of  the  youngsters  of  both 
sexes  who  had  not  had  the  opportunity  to  finish 
the  eighth  grade  in  grammar  school  were  en- 
rolled in  a  school,  known  then,  as  now,  as  the 
Junior  Academy.  The  course  of  instruction 
included  grammar,  arithmetic,  penmanship, 
spelling  and  history. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  year  twenty  were 
graduated.  During  the  second  year  fifty 
reached  the  point  of  graduation  successfully. 


sired  to  take  advantage  of  the  instruction 
provided  were  a  certain  proportion  of  young 
men  and  women  who  had  attended  college  and 
who  might  have  rebelled  at  going  back  to 
"school" — the  use  of  the  latter  word  was 
scrupulously  avoided.  Thus  the  place  of  in- 
struction was  entitled  and  invariably  spoken 
of  as  the  "conference  room."  And  as  such 
it  is  known  at  this  present  time. 
Six  years  after  the  educational  work  had 


92 


Training  of  Employees  and  Personnel  Work 


93 


been  instituted  a  law  was  enacted  by  the  Illi- 
nois Legislature  requiring  that  all  children 
under  sixteen  years  of  age  regularly  attend 
school.  The  passage  of  the  measure  entailed 
no  changes  of  method  on  the  Field  organiza- 
tion, for  the  firm's  educational  work  more  than 
met  all  the  new  requirements.  The  work  done 
in  the  Field  "academy,"  indeed,  was  recog- 
nized by  the  State  officials  as  entirely  in  accord 
with  requirements. 

Up  to  a  recent  period  the  Academy  used  to 
enroll  300  juniors.  At  the  present  time  the 
firm  avoids  as  far  as  possible  the  hiring  of 
boys  under  sixteen  years  of  age  and  does  not 
hire  any  girls  under  that  age.  As  a  re- 
sult, the  Academy  enrollment  is  now  less, 
varying  between  40  and  60.  The  course  has 
again  been  broadened,  however,  so  that  it 
now  includes  retail  selling,  business  ethics, 
civics,  commercial  geography,  hygiene  and 
also  stenography,  typewriting  and  the  use 
of  calculating  machines. 

Text  books  and  other  requisites,  such  as 
stationery,  are  furnished  free  of  charge  by 
the  firm.  Moreover,  all  of  the  classes  are  held 
on  the  firm's  time,  or  in  other  words,  during 
the  store's  working  hours. 

High  school  courses  are  given  each  after- 
noon to  those  employees  over  sixteen  years  of 
age  who  care  to  attend. 

The  educational  and  personnel  work  car- 
ried on  in  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  store  occu- 
pies the  greater  part  of  the  twelfth  floor. 

BEFORE  being  accepted  as  employees  ap- 
plicants are  very  carefully  selected.  The 
store  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  has  so  high  a 
reputation  for  the  care  it  takes  of  its  em- 
ployees that  a  small  "help  wanted"  advertise- 
ment will  bring  applicants  to  the  employment 
department  in  shoals,  and  there  are  frequent 
occasions  when  those  who  make  the  first  ex- 
amination spend  a  mighty  busy  time  in  the 
effort  to  accept  only  those  who  can  prove 
themselves  to  be  up  to  the  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  standard. 

This  first  culling  out  is  performed  by  two 
college  women  in  the  busy  season;  by  one  at 


other  times.  All  applicants  are  looked  over 
and  interviewed  by  one  of  these  women.  If 
there  is  a  chance  of  the  applicant's  meeting 
the  requirements,  he  or  she  receives  an 
application  form  and  is  told  to  fill  it  out. 
The  information  thus  elicited  tends  to  show 
the  kind  of  work  for  which  the  applicant  is 
fitted. 

If  the  statements  written  in  the  form 
indicate  fitness,  the  applicant  is  passed  on  to  a 
member  of  the  staff  who  has  charge  of  the 
hiring  of  people  for  certain  divisions  of  the 
store  work. 

One  man  hires  all  the  employees  for  "sys- 
tem" positions,  such  as  cashiers,  inspectors  and 
employees  in  the  delivery  system.  Another 
engages  all  the  office  help. 

A  third  has  under  his  charge  the  selection 
of  porters  and  employees  for  work  along  sim- 
ilar  lines. 

To  a  fourth  is  entrusted  the  duty  of  select- 
ing employees  who  are  to  start  in  when  under 
eighteen  years  of  age.  The  selection  of  sales- 
people is  in  charge  of  two  men. 

In  addition  to  this,  floormen — and  also 
salespeople  for  special  purposes — are  selected 
and  engaged  by  two  men  of  higher  positions 
and  long  experience  in  the  handling  of  the 
store  personnel. 

The  first  thing  attended  to  after  a  new  em- 
ployee has  been  engaged  is  a  medical  inspec- 
tion or  examination.  This  is  performed  in 
the  Medical  Bureau,  which  is  an  important 
part  of  the  personnel  work  of  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.,  retail,  and  to  which  reference  in  detail 
will  be  made  later  on.  In  accordance  with 
the  requirements  of  the  city's  Health  Depart- 
ment the  new  employee  is  required  to  produce 
his  or  her  vaccination  certificate. 

If  the  examination  proves  physical  fitness 
for  entrance  into  the  Field  organization,  a 
record  of  the  engagement  of  the  new  employee 
is  made  on  a  form  provided  for  the  purpose, 
and  this  is  filed  in  the  personnel  office. 

Then  the  new  employee  is  sent  to  the  Edu- 
cational Department  to  be  initiated  in  the 
making  out  of  saleschecks  and  other  details. 
In  the  brief  course  for  this  purpose  there  are 


94 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


presented  to  the  student  for  solution  a  num- 
ber of  problems,  each  of  which  is  based  on 
actual  store  work. 

Needless  to  say,  the  new  member  of  the 
organization  is  fully  instructed  in  the  spirit 
and  policies  which  actuate  the  management 
and    which,    in     fact,    permeate    the    entire 


Marshall   Field  &   Co.   quality  of  service  to 
customers. 

These  courses  have  a  strong  influence 
in  getting  salespeople  interested  in  their 
work  and  giving  them  a  vision  and  under- 
standing of  what  real  salesmanship  is  cap- 
able of  accomplishing. 


This  main  section  of  the  restaurant  or  cafeteria  for  employees  has  a  capacity  of  6000.     It  is 
sunny  and  well  ventilated  and  cheerful,  and  the  food  served   is   of  the  best   at  extremely   moderate 


prices. 

Marshall  Field  &  Co.  organization. 

Not  only  with  the  newly  engaged  employee, 
but  at  frequent  intervals  in  the  case  of  all 
salespeople,  instruction  is  given  by  means  of 
demonstration  sales. 

A  course  in  salesmanship  is  conducted 
twice  a  year  for  a  group  of  pioneering  sales- 
people. The  candidates  are  selected  by  the 
buyers  and  meet  one  morning  a  week  for  ten 
weeks.  They  study  the  history  and  policies 
of  the  store  and  analyze  the  parts  of  a  sale 
and  all  those  things  that  go  into  making  the 


If  it  happens,  as  it  sometimes  does  during 
the  duller  periods  of  the  year,  that  the  new- 
ly engaged  employees  are  not  sufficient  in  num- 
ber to  form  a  large  enough  class  just  at  the 
time  of  their  hiring,  they  are  allowed  to  go 
to  work  for  a  few  days  until  enough  recruits 
have  accumulated  to  form  a  class. 

The  extent  of  the  educational  activities  of 
the  Field  store  is  indicated,  in  part,  by  the 
fact  that  at  the  beginning  of  June,  1920, 
seven  teachers  were  employed  in  the  Junior 
Academy   and  that  twenty   students  were  at 


Training  of  Employees  and  Personnel  Work 


95 


c 


that  time  ready  for  the  approaching  gradua- 
tion. In  addition,  there  were  quite  a  num- 
ber from  the  store's  system  department 
engaged  in  the  study  of  stenography,  type- 
writing and  the  use  of  accounting  machines. 
There  was  also  a  class  in  advanced  English. 

In  fact,  the  Educational  Bureau,  which  is 
now  located  on  the  twelfth  floor  of  the  im- 
mense main  building,  is  a  mighty  busy  place, 
with  its  several  class  rooms  and  its  numerous 
teachers. 

Another  factor  that  is  proving  helpful  is 
the  sponsor  system.  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
were  among  the  first  to  adopt  this  method,  the 
primary  purpose  of  which  is  to  get  new  em- 
ployees to  feel  at  home  in  their  department 
and  aid  them  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of 
their  duties.  This  tends  to  lessen  the  help 
turnover.  The  new  employee  sees  from  the 
start  that  the  store  management  takes  an  in- 
interest  in  her  and  that  the  house  desires  to 
help  her  to  progress. 

From  the  sponsor  the  novice  derives  in- 
struction in  the  details  of  her  work.  She 
learns  of  the  location  of  elevators,  stairways, 
etc.,  and  acquires  other  information  that  en- 
ables her  to  answer  intelligently  questions  put 
to  her  by  customers. 

The  sponsors  assist  the  section  managers 
in  checking  up  all  their  people  on  the  reports 
of  errors  on  saleschecks.  They  work  closely 
with  the  Educational  Bureau  in  the  effort  to 
reduce  the  number  of  these  errors.  Being 
constantly  in  touch  with  the  people  in  the 
section,  sponsors  are  often  the  means  of 
keeping  up  the  standard  of  service,  dress, 
etc.,  as  set  forth  in  the  Employees'  Manual. 

Through  the  sponsors  over  400  people, 
many  of  whom  had  been  in  the  store  for 
some  time,  volunteered  to  join  classes  in 
English.  These  were  organized  and  carried 
on  from  8.45  to  9.30  in  the  morning,  chiefly 
for  the  purpose  of  correcting  errors  of  speech 
and  enlarging  the  vocabulary. 

In  selecting  employees  who  are  to  act  as 
sponsors  attention  is  given  to  such  qualifica- 
tions as  friendliness,  cheerfulness  in  receiving 
new  people,  maturity  sufficient  for  good  judg- 


ment, strong  personality,  plenty  of  tact,  abil- 
ity to  avoid  friction,  dependability,  loyalty  to 
the  house,  and  ability  to  impart  knowledge. 
To  these  is  added  a  thorough  grounding  in 
the  system  and  policy  of  the  house. 

The  aim  is  to  have  a  sponsor  in  every  sec- 
tion of  the  store,  with  additional  sponsors  in 
some  sections  during  the  busier  months  of 
November  and  December. 

The  sponsor  system  at  Field's  has  been  de-    i 
veloped    in    a    thorough    manner    and    has' 
brought  excellent  results. 

The  Educational  Bureau  also  has  under 
its  charge  the  facilities  for  the  comfort  and 
welfare  of  the  employees.  Among  these  is 
what  is  known  as  the  Music  Room.  This  is 
an  extremely  cheerful  and  comfortable  gath- 
ering place. 

This  Music  Room  is  used  as  a  rest-room 
as  well  as  for  practice  meetings  of  the  Choral 
Society,  composed  of  members  of  the  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  organization.  At  various  times 
also  meetings  are  held  and  lectures  and  enter- 
tainments of  various  kinds  are  given  there. 
As  many  as  seventy-five  such  gatherings  have 
been  held  in  the  Music  Room,  outside  of  busi- 
ness hours,  during  the  year,  and  every  day  of 
the  working  week  not  less  than  five  hundred 
girls  and  women  avail  themselves  of  the  op- 
portunity to  spend  some  time  there  in  rest  cr 
recreation. 

The  Educational  Bureau  supervises  the 
loaning  of  over  500  warm  black  sweaters  to 
girls  and  women  whose  work  necessitates 
their  standing  near  doors  or  other  cold, 
draughty  places  in  the  winter  season. 

A  room  registry  is  maintained  whereby 
the  employees  may  find  comfortable,  reliable 
lodgings.  These  as  well  as  the  vacation  re- 
sorts recommended  by  the  Educational  Bu- 
reau are  first  carefully  investigated. 

There  is  also  a  reading  room  for  men. 
This  is  provided  not  only  with  newspapers 
and  magazines,  but  also  with  writing  ma- 
terials, and  with  chess  and  checker  boards, 
etc. 

Very  often,  outside  of  store  hours,  many 
of  the  girl  and  women  employees  are  brought 


96 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


together  by  clubs  which  are  not  actually  a 
part  of  the  store's  activities  but  which  they 
are  encouraged  to  join  and  support.  Usually 
there  are  two  outstanding  organizations  of 
this  variety,  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  and  the  College 
Girls  Club.  The  College  Girls  Club  is  com- 
posed of  young  women  members  of  the  Field 
organization  who  have  attended  college  and 
who  enjoy  getting  together  on  a  common 
level  and  talking  over  their  problems,  both 
as  Field  store  employees  and  as  college 
women. 

In  short,  there  are  abundant  evidences  of 
the  thought  prevailing  among  the  heads  of 
the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  organization  that  its 
employees  shall  be  just  like  one  big  family. 

ANOTHER  important  feature  of  the  twelfth 
floor  is  the  great,  big,  airy  restaurant 
for  employees,  which  has  an  unbroken  view 
of  Lake  Michigan. 

The  greater  part  of  this  restaurant  is  run 
on  the  cafeteria  plan.  A  smaller  section 
is  for  the  use  of  those  employees  who  prefer 
to  bring  their  lunch  with  them.  In  this  small- 
er section,  however,  means  are  provided  for 
the  supplementing  of  the  food  brought  from 
home  with  tea,  coffee  and  other  drinks  and 
with  ice  cream  or  some  other  form  of  dessert. 

The  main  part  of  the  restaurant,  con- 
ducted on  the  cafeteria  plan,  has  a  capacity 
of  6000.  This  means,  for  example,  that  there 
are  6000  aluminum  trays  provided,  besides 
plates,  dishes,  glasses,  cups  and  saucers, 
knives  and  forks,  and  various  other  utensils. 
For  transferring  the  soiled  dishes,  etc.,  to  the 
dishwashing  machine  an  endless  belt  is  pro- 
vided, and  the  rest  of  the  equipment  is  on  a 
similarly  up-to-date,  time-saving  plan.  All 
the  cooking  is  accomplished  by  means  of  elec- 
trical ranges,  and  the  silver  is  polished  after 
each  using  by  means  of  a  buffing  machine. 

Everything  about  this  cafeteria  or  res- 
taurant is  spotless,  and  the  food,  though 
served  at  cost  of  purchase,  preparation  and 
serving,  is  of  the  highest  character. 

After  food  for  the  body  comes  food  for 
the  mind.    This  need  is  admirably  supplied  in 


the  Field  store  by  an  extensive  library.  It 
contains  nearly  4000  books  of  its  own,  includ- 
ing many  valuable  and  up-to-date  works  of 
reference.  There  are  also  on  deposit  in  this 
branch  of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  personnel 
activities  some  2800  volumes  from  the  Chi- 
cago Public  Library.  In  addition,  the  Field 
library  has  the  use  of  books  from  the  Public 
Library's  circulating  department.  There  is 
also  a  branch  of  this  Field  library  in  the  firm's 
wholesale  building. 

The  average  monthly  circulation  of  the 
Field  library  is  between  6000  and  8000  vol- 
umes. 

Both  for  use  in  the  library  and  for  cir- 
culation there  is  provided  an  extensive  selec- 
tion of  magazines  and  business  papers.  Many 
copies  of  each  issue  of  the  Dry  Goods  Econo- 
mist thus  pass  into  reading  and  circulation, 
and  during  its  editor's  visit  to  the  library  he 
was  informed  "The  Economist  is  read  and 
re-read  until  it  is  almost  worn  out." 

The  librarians  publish  lists  of  books  on 
special  subjects  and  give  careful  attention  to 
research  questions  which  are  presented  by  sec- 
tion managers,  or  other  employees. 

The  library  is  open  from  8:30  a.m.  to  5:30 
p.m.  and  is  a  center  of  rest  and  enjoyment  for 
all  employees. 

The  retail  store  organization  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.,  numbers  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  year  just  about  ten  thousand.  During 
the  busier  periods,  such  as  the  pre-Christmas 
weeks,  the  number  is  increased  by  fifty  per 
cent.  Naturally,  amid  such  a  great  number 
of  people  there  is  at  all  times  a  certain  per- 
centage who  are  in  need  of  medical  advice. 
Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  store's 
Medical  Bureau,  its  origin  many  years  ago  and 
its  work  in  connection  with  the  new  employees. 
Now  there  must  be  said  something  as  to  what 
is  done  right  along,  the  year  'round,  for  em- 
ployees who  are  ailing  or  meet  with  an 
accident. 

The  Medical  Bureau  is  fully  equipped  to 
handle  simple  cases,  to  give  first  aid,  and  to 
furnish  advice  after  a  thorough  examination 
of  the  patient.    Wisely,  as  a  little  considera- 


Training  of  Employees  and  Personnel  Work 


97 


tion  will  show,  the  Medical  Bureau  does  not 
give  treatment  except  to  the  degree  above 
indicated.  It  does  take  care,  however,  that 
the  employee  who  is  sick  shall  be  so  directed 
as  to  obtain  medical  treatment  from  a  proper- 
ly qualified  practitioner — a  specialist,  it  may 
be,  in  certain  cases. 

Three  doctors  compose  the  medical  staff, 
and  at  all  hours  throughout  the  working  day 
one  of  them  is  in  attendance.  As  the  physician 
in  chief  explained  it,  this  plan  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  permitting  each  of  the  doctors  to 
practise  at  a  hospital  or  elsewhere  and  thus 
keep  in  touch  with  all  the  newest  developments 
in  the  treatment  of  disease. 

The  personnel  of  the  Medical  Bureau  also 
includes  six  trained  nurses,  a  clerk  to  take 
care  of  the  records  of  cases,  and  a  stenog- 
rapher. 

This  extensive  staff  is  made  necessary  by 
the  fact  that  a  visit  is  paid  by  a  nurse  to  each 
employee  who  goes  home  on  sick  leave  and  is 
absent  more  than  a  day  or  so. 

This  feature  of  the  bureau's  work  is  known 
as  "social  service"  and  is  under  the  direction 
of  still  another  member  of  the  Medical  Bu- 
reau's personnel,  who  is  not  included  in  the 
foregoing  enumeration.  Among  other  things, 
the  call  brings  out  information  as  to  whether 
the  patient  is  under  the  care  of  the  right  kind 
of  physician.  This  is  a  matter  which  obvi- 
ously has  no  small  bearing  on  the  speed  of 
recovery. 

In  some  instances  the  employee  who  needs 
special  treatment  or  an  operation,  it  may  be, 
is  sent  either  to  St.  Luke's  Hospital  or  to  the 
Presbyterian  Hospital,  to  both  of  which  in- 
stitutions Marshall  Field  &  Co.  have  for  many 
years  been  generous  contributors.  Employees 
who  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  contract  tuber- 
culosis are  sent  to  the  Valmora  Sanitarium 
at  Watrous,  N.  M.,  of  which  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  are  part  owners. 

All  employees  who  have  been  absent  on 
sick  leave  for  a  period  of  three  days  or  more 
are  examined  by  one  of  the  physicians  on  re- 
porting for  work.  This  is  essential  because 
in  many  cases  the  employee  may  return  to 


work  when  still  physically  unfit.  Further- 
more, the  risk  of  other  employees  contracting 
a  contagious  disease  is  minimized. 

The  Medical  Bureau  attends  not  only  to 
the  employees  of  the  retail  store  but  also  to 
those  in  the  wholesale  branch  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.,  to  employees  in  the  concern's 
warehouses  and  garages  and  to  workers  in  its 
factories  in  Chicago  or  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
city. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  all  of 
the  employees  are  encouraged  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  services  of  the  Medical  Bureau 
whenever  they  so  desire,  just  as  they  are  wel- 
come to  make  use  of  all  the  other  facilities 
which  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  furnish  for  the 
instruction,  health  and  comfort  of  their  co- 
workers. 

The  Field  Choral  Society  originated  in  the 
following  manner,  as  related  by  a  member  of 
the  retail  store  force  who  has  been  with  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  for  over  thirty  years.  Said 
'he: 

"We  were  going  to  have  an  entertainment, 
with  a  male  quartet.  One  of  the  fellows  had 
a  good  voice,  but  was  unable  to  read  music. 
Also  we  needed  a  piano  player.  We  happened 
to  learn  that  there  was  a  young  man,  em- 
ployed as  a  bookkeeper  in  the  stockroom,  who 
could  play  the  piano.  Further  inquiry  showed 
that  he  was  leading  a  big  choir  in  the  city. 
He  proved  himself  a  good  leader  with  us  and 
worked  up  an  excellent  quartet.  So  when  we 
started  to  organize  our  Choral  Society  he  was 
given  a  chance  at  it. 

"On  Washington's  Birthday,  1907,  we  is- 
sued a  bulletin,  announcing  the  proposed 
formation  of  a  Choral  Society  and  calling  a 
meeting  of  all  members  of  the  organization 
who  desired  to  join.  We  had  expected  about 
sixty,  but  two  hundred  responded.  This  gave 
us  enough  to  make  the  choir  a  success  from 
the  start.  We  have  kept  the  membership  at 
about  two  hundred  ever  since. 

"The  man  of  whom  I  have  just  been  speak- 
ing as  the  original  leader  still  trains  and  con- 
ducts the  Choral  Society.  He  has  a  studio 
in  the  Fine  Arts  Building,  and  devotes  three 


98 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


days  a  week  to  his  duties  in  the  store  and 
three  days  to  the  Society. 

"Practice  is  had  by  the  members  of  the 
Society  once  a  week  in  the  season.  After  5.30 
p.m.  we  go  up  to  the  employees'  restaurant, 
on  the  twelfth  floor,  and  have  our  evening 
meal.  This  is  paid  for  out  of  the  funds  of 
the  Choral  Society.  The  outlay  causes  a  de- 
ficit in  the  funds  of  the  Society  of  just  about 
$2,800,  and  the  shortage  is  later  on  made  up 
by  the  firm.  You  might  say  perhaps  that  the 
firm  might  just  as  well  assume  the  outlay  in 
a  more  direct  form.  That,  however,  would 
savor  of  paternalism,  which  is  something 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  consistently  avoid." 

For  many  years  the  Field  Choral  Society 
has  been  recognized  far  and  wide  in  musical 
circles  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  organiza- 
tions in  the  choral  world.  It  has  rendered 
most  difficult  compositions  before  large  audi- 


ences, in  many  cases  being  assisted  by  prom- 
inent soloists  and  accompanied  by  an  orchestra 
of  national  reputation.  Away  back  in  1912, 
for  example,  as  reference  to  the  Dry  Goods 
Economist  of  that  period  shows,  the  Society 
gave  a  concert  at  Orchestra  Hall,  Chicago, 
presenting  "Hiawatha's  Wedding  Feast"  and 
Mendelssohn's  "Hymn  of  Praise."  On  that 
occasion  the  Society  was  assisted  by  three 
soloists  of  prominence  and  by  members  of  the 
Theodore  Thomas  Orchestra.  Since  then  the 
reputation  of  the  Society  has  been  even 
farther  enhanced. 

In  April,  1919,  the  Chorus  was  assisted 
by  several  members  of  the  Chicago  Symphony 
Orchestra.  The  program  included  Elgar's 
"The  Light  of  Life." 

Practically  every  section  of  the  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  organization  is  represented  in  the 
Society. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  WHOLESALE  BUSINESS 


THE  history  of  the  wholesale  department 
of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  is  one  of 
unusual  interest  and  fascination.  In 
previous  chapters  of  this  "life  story  of  a  great 
concern"  something  has  been  told  of  the  be- 
ginnings of  this  branch  of  the  business  and 
of  its  development  during  the  earlier  days.  It 
has  been  shown  how  the  retail  store  of  Field, 


not  exceeding  six  stories  in  height,  with  base- 
ment and  in  some  cases  with  a  sub-basement. 
The  area  of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  whole- 
sale building  also  was  enormous  for  those 
days.  The  building  must  indeed  have  seemed 
extraordinarily  spacious  to  those  associated 
with  the  firm  on  the  removal  from  Madison 
and  Market  Streets. 


A  Field,  Palmer  &  Letter  invoice  of  1866 


Leiter  &  Co.  was  aided  and  buttressed  by  the 
wholesale  during  periods  of  unavoidable 
stress.  And  reference  has  been  made  to  the 
building  at  Madison  and  Market  Streets  in 
which  this  branch  of  the  business  was  housed 
until  1887,  when  Marshall  Field  erected  the 
massive  building  occupying  the  block  between 
Adams,  Franklin,  Quincy  and  Wells  Streets 
The  foresight  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  was 
admirably  illustrated  in  the 'erection  of  this 
great  structure.  An  eight-story  and  basement 
building  was  rare  in  those  days,  even  in  Chi- 
cago, which  a  few  years  subsequently  was  the 
birthplace  of  the  skyscraper  as  we  know  it 
these  days.  The  big  New  York  wholesale 
houses  of  the  day  were  housed  in  buildings 


To-day,  of  course,  the  building  is  inade- 
quate to  the  needs  of  the  enormous  wholesale 
business  which  has  developed.  Its  resources 
have  long  been  eked  out  by  the  addition  of 
large  buildings  across  the  street,  wherein 
are  housed  reserve  stocks  and  some  of  the 
auditing  force,  and  by  numerous  warehouses. 
Yet  no  thoughtful  man  can  visit  the  main 
building  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  wholesale, 
without  consciously  or  unconsciously  paying  a 
tribute  to  the  great  merchant  under  whose 
direction  it  was  planned  and  erected.  One 
cannot  escape  the  reflection,  "Here  is  another 
proof  that  Marshall  Field  did  nothing  by 
halves!" 

One  reason  why  Mr.  Field  made  such  ex- 


99 


100 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


tensive  provision  for  taking  care  of  the  whole- 
sale end  of  the  business  was  that  in  the  early 
'80s  the  great  bulk  of  the  buying  by  retailers 
was  accomplished  during  semi-annual  trips  to 
the  market.  At  the  proper  time  the  merchant 
bought  pretty  nearly  enough  goods  to  supply 
his  needs  for  the  ensuing  "spring"  or  "fall" 
season. 

As  an  example  of  the  buying  method  in 
question,  we  have  before  us  an  invoice  for 
goods  bought  of  Field,  Palmer  &  Leiter  in 
1866,  by  Butcher  &  Failinger,  Waterloo,  Wis. 
It  is  dated  July  26 — which  is  about  the  date 
when  many  retailers  to-day  begin  to  place 
their  fall  orders.  The  invoice  covers  130 
items,  totaling  $1,613.63. 

The  goods  include  linen,  Russian  crash, 
lace  nainsook,  lawn,  Swiss,  bobbinet,  jaconet, 
cambric  and  various  other  bleached  cottons, 
also  denim,  ticks,  prints,  wide  sheetings, 
handkerchiefs,  women's  and  children's  hosiery, 
ribbons,  damask,  bedspreads,  "tidies,"  mos- 
quito netting,  twine  and  wadding. 

Some  of  the  prices  are: 
Pepperell  R  brown  sheetings  23  cents ;  Cabot 
A  40  in.,  221/2  cents;  Lyman  C  40  in.,  22^/2 
cents;  fancy  embroidered  handkerchiefs,  $3 
a  dozen ;  women's  ribbed  hose,  $2.25  a  dozen ; 
children's  ribbed  hose,  $2.25  a  dozen;  taffeta 
ribbon,  various  prices  per  piece,  from  25  cents 
to  $2 ;  linen,  60  cents  to  90  cents  a  yard ;  Rus- 
sian crash,  20  cents;  nainsook,  45  cents  a 
yard;  bobbinet  lace,  15  cents  a  yard;  dotted 
Swiss,  371/2  cents;  Masonville  cambric,  23 
cents;  Lonsdale  cambric,  221/2  cents;  Clyde 
gingham,  21  cents ;  figured  alpaca,  371/2  cents ; 
Amoskeag  C  jeans,  231/2  cents;  Allen  prints, 
19  cents;  American  prints,  21  cents. 

It  was  Mr.  Field's  aim  to  have  in  the 
wholesale  store  such  a  range  of  merchandise 
and  such  complete  assortments  that  retailers 
would  go  to  Field's  in  preference  to  any  other 
wholesale  house.  And  for  such  broad  show- 
I  j  ings  of  merchandise  plenty  of  floor  space  was 
among  the  facilities  held  to  be  essential. 

Service  also,  then  as  since,  was  a  watch- 
word at  Field's,  and  the  best  of  facilities  were 
provided  not  only  for  showing  the  merchan- 


dise and  aiding  the  customer  in  making  his 
purchases  but  also  in  the  matter  of  rapid  pack- 
ing, shipping  and  billing. 

Some  traveling  on  the  road  was  carried  on, 
however.  In  the  very  early  days  the  heads 
of  Chicago  wholesale  firms  took  occasional 
trips  among  their  trade.  Marshall  Field 
himself  was  no  exception  to  this  rule.  In  ad- 
dition, visits  to  their  trade  were  made  by  the 
general  salesmen. 

These  general  salesmen,  it  may  be  stated 
for  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  unfamiliar 
with  wholesale  house  methods,  took  care  of 
the  retailers  on  their  arrival  in  the  market, 
went  with  them  from  department  to  depart- 
ment in  the  store,  saw  that  they  were  duly 
waited  on  by  the  department  salesmen,  and 
in  every  way  possible  did  their  best  to  make 
sure  that  their  customer  made  at  least  the 
greater  part  of  his  purchases  in  the  salesrooms 
of  their  concern. 

The  general  salesman  also  kept  in  touch 
with  his  customers  by  mail  and  acted  as  their 
intermediary  with  his  house.  He  saw  that 
their  purchases  or  orders  received  prompt  and 
proper  attention,  that  their  goods  were  shipped 
by  the  quickest  or  cheapest  routes,  as  the  case 
might  demand — in  fact,  he  held  his  customers 
by  the  attention  he  paid  to  their  interests  and 
by  his  close  personal  relations  with  them.  It 
was  largely  for  the  purpose  of  developing  and 
maintaining  such  relations  that  the  general 
salesman,  during  the  period  between  the  buy- 
ing "seasons,"  went  on  the  road. 

In  the  very  early  days  there  was  not  as- 
signed to  each  general  salesman  a  certain  ter- 
ritory, as  was  the  case  later  on.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  were  allowed  to  wait  on  customers 
whom  they  had  met  in  any  part  of  the  coun- 
try. 

In  addition  to  the  general  salesmen,  in  a 
few  instances  "special"  salesmen,  who  carried 
only  samples  of  goods  handled  in  the  particu- 
lar department  to  which  they  were  attached, 
were  sent  out  from  the  more  important  de- 
partments. 

During  a  number  of  years  these  methods 
brought     satisfactory     results.       Conditions 


Early  Days  of  the  Wholesale  Business 


101 


arose,  however,  which  made  essential  a  very 
considerable  change  in  the  selling  methods  of 
the  Field  wholesale  institution,  more  espe- 
cially with  regard  to  the  selling  of  goods  on 
the  road. 

The  growth  of  the  firm's  wholesale  busi- 
ness had  been  greatly  fostered  by  the  con- 
tinued outspreading  and  upbuilding  of  Chi- 
cago's tributary  territory,  as  also  by  the  in- 
crease in  the  population  of  its  cities,  towns 
and  villages.  This  same  growth,  however, 
had  as  a  natural  consequence  the  bringing 
into  the  field  of  a  number  of  new  wholesale 
concerns,  especially  in  western  localities :  Kan- 
sas City,  St.  Joseph,  Omaha,  the  Twin  Cities, 
Denver,  and  other  centers.  These  concerns,  al- 
though they  carried  nothing  like  such  exten- 
sive lines  or  assortments  as  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.,  were  gradually  cutting  into  the  trade 
of  the  big  Chicago  house. 

*^  It  was  Mr.  Field's  idea — and  one  on  which 
he  strongly  insisted — that  the  most  satisfac- 
tory way  of  doing  business,  both  for  buyer 
and  for  seller,  was  to  have  the  customers  come 
to  Chicago  when  they  were  in  need  of  goods. 
They  could  thus,  he  argued,  take  full  advan- 
tage of  the  immense  stocks  and  complete 
ranges  of  designs,  colors,  sizes,  weights,  etc., 
carried  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  whereas  the 
roadmen,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  could 
show  only  a  limited  number  of  samples.  Mr. 
Field  also  held  that  the  shipping  and  billing 
of  the  goods  as  well  as  the  selection  were 
simplified  when  the  customer  came  to  the 
market  and  placed  his  orders  directly  with 
the  house. 

In  a  word,  it  was  Mr.  Field's  plan  to  fa- 
vor house  buying  rather  than  road  buying. 

Those  men  who  were  on  the  road  for 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  were  deeply  impressed 
when  they  found  that  the  new  jobbing  con- 
cerns in  other  centers  were  rapidly  increasing 
their  business.  The  condition  was  re- 
ported by  an  observant  salesman,  who  has 
since  reached  a  high  and  responsible  position 
with  the  house.  He  emphasized  the  fact  that 
although  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  had  a  marvel- 
ous wholesale  business,  housed  in  a  spacious 


building,  with  a  great  organization  and  ex- 
ceptionally extensive  lines  of  merchandise,  the 
smaller  wholesalers  were  able  to  send  out  men 
on  the  road  with  an  equal  number  of  samples 
and  make  almost  as  good  a  showing  through 
their  salesmen  as  could  be  done  by  any  other 
concern,  no  matter  how  large  and  well 
equipped. 

He  further  pointed  out  that  at  that  time  a 
great  many  men  who  knew  nothing  of  the  dry 
goods  business — some  of  them  farmers,  for 
example — had  gone  into  the  retailing  of  dry 
goods.  These  storekeepers,  he  reported,  were 
accustomed  to  have  their  clerks  select  goods, 
and,  obviously,  their  purchases  must  of  ne- 
cessity be  made  from  roadmen,  seeing  that 
such  a  storekeeper  could  not  take  his  clerks 
with  him  to  Chicago  or  other  market  on  a 
buying  trip.  -^ 

In  short,  while  it  was  admitted  that  the 
method  advocated  by  Mr.  Field  might  be  the 
ideal  one,  conditions,  it  was  urged,  had  clearly 
proven  that  it  was  not  a  practicable  one.  Thus, 
when  the  matter  was  laid  before  Mr.  Shedd, 
he  was  quick  to  realize  the  logic  of  the  situa- 
tion, and  he  at  once  made  to  Mr.  Field  a 
strong  plea  for  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
road  salesmen.  y 

The  result  was  that  within  a  short  time 
new  men,  possessed  of  character  and  ability, 
many  of  them  trained  in  retail  stores  and 
possessing  a  good  knowledge  of  all  lines,  were 
added  to  the  wholesale  organization.  A  marked 
increase  in  sales  speedily  followed.  Then  the 
re-districting  of  the  territory  covered  by  the 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  road  force  was  under- 
taken, with  the  result  that  the  wholesale  busi- 
ness was  further  enlarged  and  extended. 

Mr.  Shedd  also  approached  Mr.  Field  with 
the  importance  of  making  radical  changes  in 
the  concern's  methods  of  supplying  its  mer- 
chandise needs.  He  argued  that  constructive 
merchandising  should  be  the  sole  purpose  of 
the  vast  organization  into  which  he  could  see 
the  wholesale  developing. 

That  the  best  intelligence  and  skill  of  the 
organization  should  be  directed  toward  this 
end — that  every  inspiration  be  given  it,  and 


102 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


that  the  great  resources  of  the  institution 
should  be  invested  in  it. 

That  such  a  policy  meant  an  intense  and 
incessant  struggle  for  the  achievement  of  the 
ideal  of  quality  in  merchandise — to  make  each 
article  the  very  best  of  its  class,  the  best  ob- 
tainable at  its  price. 

That  it  would  mean  the  development  of  the 
highest  possible  efficiency  in  service — the 
creation,  interpretation  and  adaptation  of 
styles.     The  collection  and  distribution  to  its 


customers  of  authentic  merchandise  informa- 
tion. Prompt  and  complete  assembly  of  lines 
— prompt  deliveries. 

He  held  that  to  achieve  such  standards  of 
quality  it  w^ould  be  necessary  to  conserve  and 
minutely  control  process  of  production. 

From  that  time  dates  the  adoption  of  the 
policy  by  which  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  came  to 
be  not  only  a  great  retail  and  a  great  whole- 
sale house,  but  also  one  of  the  country's  larg- 
est manufacturing  concerns. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
PRODUCTION  AND  DISTRIBUTION  POLICIES  EXEMPLIFIED 


ONE  obtains  quite  a  vivid  impression  of 
the  varied  activities  of  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.'s  wholesale  branch  as  well  as  of 
its  modern  ways  of  doing  business  on  step- 


time.  The  other  is  to  present  the  goods  in 
such  a  way  that  they  will  afford  to  the  cus- 
tomer decidedly  accurate  conceptions  and  sug- 
gestions as  to  how  goods  may  be  selected  with 


In  the  draperies  and  upholsteries  section  of  Marshall  Field  &■  Co.,  wholesale,  both  the  merchan- 
dise and  the  methods  of  showing  it  are  well  worthy  of  study  and  emulation. 


ping  into  the  carpeted  and  rather  richly  fur- 
nished draperies  section.  Different  indeed 
from  the  old-time  wholesale  house,  where  one 
would  see  the  goods  piled  up  on  the  counter 
in  bolts  and  where  the  customer  was  apt  to 
be  shown  goods  only  in  that  form! 

There  are  two  ideas  dominant  in  the  show- 
ing of  merchandise  in  this  department.  One 
is  speed,  so  as  to  avoid  loss  of  the  customer's 


a  view  to  fitting  him  out  with  a  complete 
scheme  for  any  kind  of  room. 

With  the  former  end  in  view,  there  have 
been  designed  and  made  sloping-top  fixtures. 
On  these  desk-like  affairs  are  laid  the  large 
sample  cards  of  cretonnes  and  other  printed 
cotton  draperies.  Three  different  cards  can 
be  so  placed  as  to  be  visible  at  one  time.  The 
customer  can  look  at  card  after  card  without 


103 


104 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


effort  or  tiring,  and  the  cards  can  be  removed 
and  others  substituted  in  a  twinkling.  It  is 
much  less  laborious  to  the  customer  than 
when  the  cards  are  laid  flat  on  a  table.  We 
know  how  it  works  because  we  tried  it. 

The  other  idea  is  carried  out  by  means  of 
racks  with  rounded  tops  covered  with  velour, 
so  that  the  goods  draped  over  them  will  not 
slip  or  slide  off.  Over  these  will  be  laid  the 
material  for  the  window  drape,  the  valance, 
a  fabric  suggesting  the  wall  paper,  a  velvet  or 
tapestry  for  the  chair  cover  or  for  the  daven- 
port, and  another  fabric  suitable  for  a  pillow 
or  soft  cushion.  For  good  measure  the  sales- 
man may  throw  in  a  silk  suitable  for  the  lamp 
shade.  Incidentally,  electric  lamps,  with  the 
current  turned  on,  and  with  silk  shades,  are 
among  the  equipment  of  this  truly  attractive 
as  well  as  remarkable  wholesale  department. 

In  half  a  minute  the  salesman  will  show 
you  a  complete  scheme  for  a  living-room,  a 
chamber  or  a  lady's  boudoir.  And  all  the 
fabrics  thus  brought  together  and  displayed 
will  harmonize  with  each  other,  the  many- 
colored  design  with  the  plain-colored  material, 
the  velvet  with  the  silk,  and  so  on.  The  exact 
shade  of  the  plain-colored  goods  will  ba  found 
in  the  design  of  the  fancy  fabric,  because  each 
of  them  has  been  designed,  produced  or  se- 
lected with  due  regard  to  the  other  and  the 
two  or  more  have  been  worked  out  together. 

This  is  one  of  several  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  departments  in  which  constant  effort  is 
made  to  originate  and  produce  the  most  novel 
and  beautiful  designs  in  all  of  the  various 
fabrics,  whether  the  design  be  woven  or 
printed.  Hand  block  printing  is  freely  em- 
ployed, and,  as  is  well  known,  the  colors  and 
effects  thus  obtained  are  apt  to  be  deeper  in 
tone  and  more  characteristic  than  those  which 
result  from  the  use  of  engraved  rollers  and 
the  printing  machine. 

This  section  does  business  with  a  wide  vari- 
ety of  distributors  on  a  large  scale.  It  supplies 
the  high-class  home  decorators  as  well  as  de- 
partment stores;  it  has  among  its  customers 
hotels  and  theaters.  And  it  supplies  material 
to  other  departments  of  the  wholesale  branch, 


notably  the  one  which  manufactures  and  dis- 
tributes fine,  upholstered  furniture. 

This  draperies  department,  moreover,  sum- 
marizes and  brings  out  in  an  exceptionally 
marked  degree  certain  of  the  leading  policies 
of  the  firm.  One  of  these  is  the  continuous 
effort,  visible  in  every  department,  to  create, 
produce  and  distribute  merchandise  that  will 
in  every  way  fulfill  the  purpose  for  which  mer- 
chandise of  that  kind  is  manufactured  and 
consumed.  Another  is  to  insure  the  merchan- 
dise being  the  best  in  every  way — weave, 
design,  color  or  whatever — all  the  way  from 
the  selection  of  the  raw  material  down  to  the 
"put  up"  of  the  goods  for  sale. 

A  third  policy  is  to  lay  the  goods  before  i 
the  customer  in  such  a  way  that  he  is  made  to 
fully  understand  and  realize  their  good  points 
and  is  thus  placed  in  a  position  intelligently 
and  accurately  to  pass  on  this  knowledge  to 
his  own  customers.  And  if  you  ask  for  a 
fourth  policy,  here  it  is: 

To  show  the  goods  in  fitting  surroundings, 
with  equipment  and  other  aids  that  make  the 
merchandise  look  as  it  will  and  as  it  should 
both  in  the  well-conducted  retail  store  and  in 
the  home  of  the  ultimate  consumer. 

The  whole  process  is  educative  to  the  cus- 
towers  of  the  firm.  They  have  the  strongest 
possible  chance  to  see  that  the  merchandise  is 
more  than  just  something  to  put  in  stock  and 
turn  over  to  the  people  who  ask  for  it.  They 
learn  also  that  price  is  not  the  prime  factor, 
because  they  ascertain  by  experience  that 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  lines  of  quality  mer- 
chandise sell  on  their  merit  more  quickly  than 
merchandise  at  a  lower  price  that  is  not  quite 
so  desirable  or  so  attractive. 

ANOTHER  notable  example  of  the  display 
methods  adopted  by  the  wholesale  divi- 
sion of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  business  is 
presented  in  the  blanket  department.  Here 
the  goods  shown,  because  of  their  bulky  na- 
ture, are  confined  to  samples.  Stock  is 
carried  in  one  of  the  firm's  several  ware- 
houses, and  therefrom  goods  are  shipped  and 
billed.     This   blanket   department,  then,   is   a 


Production  and  Distribution  Policies  Exemplified 


105 


carpeted  space  about  55  by  60  ft.  walled  in 
with  lighted,  glass-fronted  shelving,  over 
which  are  display  cases  also  brilliantly  illumi- 
nated. Thus  the  goods  are  shown  to  the  bef,t 
advantage  and  the  sample  blankets  can  readily 
be  removed  and  laid  on  the  table  for  inspec- 
tion by  the  customer. 


such  a  way  that  it  looks  much  as  if  it  were 
on  sale  in  a  first-class  retail  store.  The  dif- 
ference is,  however,  that  in  these  wholesale 
sections  each  garment  or  other  article  dis- 
played is  only  a  sample. 

Close  approximation  to  the  appearance  of 
a  well-conducted  retail  establishment  is  also 


EE^ 

1 

i 

> 

Ai 

^i 

With  its  electrically  lighted  showcases,  central  fixtures  and  carpeted  floor  the  blanket  and  outing 
flannel  department  is  a  fine  example  of  the  favorable  conditions  under  which  goods  at  Marshall  Field 
&■  Co.'s  wholesale  branch   are  shown  to   visiting   merchants. 


In  this  department,  too,  are  central  fix- 
tures, with  drawers,  in  which  are  kept  the 
outing  flannels  which,  like  the  blankets,  are 
made  by  the  firm's  North  Carolina  mills. 

Another  mighty  striking  display,  while  we 
are  on  that  subject,  is  one  in  the  lining  de- 
partment, where  in  showcases  are  seen  the 
brilliant  colors  and  rich  designs  of  sateens  and 
other  weaves  got  up  for  the  garment  manu- 
facturers as  well  as  for  the  retail  trade. 
Again,  in  the  women's  coat,  suit  and  dress  de- 
partment and  in  the  infants'  and  children's 
goods  section  the  merchandise  is  handled   in 


presented  by  the  type  of  fixtures  employed  as 
well  as  by  the  carpeted  floor  in  several  of  the 
departments,  especially  those  to  which  refer- 
ence has  just  been  made. 

One  of  the  methods  which  deserve  special 
mention  was  brought  to  our  attention  in  the 
knit  underwear  department.  The  roadmen 
were  instructed  to  report  in  writing  all  com- 
plaints made  as  to  their  merchandise. 

Twice  a  year  the  roadmen  for  the  depart- 
ment are  brought  together  and  these  criti- 
cisms and  all  other  appropriate  matters  are 
discussed.    In  addition,  the  roadmen  are  given 


106 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


information  as  to  competing  lines,  so  that  they 
can  talk  their  own  goods  more  intelligently. 
Also  they  are  instructed  as  to  matters  of  which 
their  merchant  customers  need  to  be  made 
aware,  so  that  the  salesmen  may  be  in  a 
position  to  give  worthwhile  advice  as  to  turn- 
over, selling  cost  and  various  other  points  that 
are  of  vital  interest  to  the  merchants  to  whom 
they  sell.  Such  conferences  last  several  days. 
In  the  knit  underwear  lines  developed  by 
the  firm  under  their  brand  there  has  been 
a  constant  endeavor  to  improve  the  merchan- 
dise. In  the  early  days  the  garments  were 
tried  on  hundreds  of  different  figures  so  as  to 
find  out  defects  or  see  where  betterments 
could  be  effected.  This  idea  of  the  importance 
of  fit  and  serviceability  is  impressed  on  the 
retailer  by  the  firm's  roadmen.  In  particular, 
care  is  taken  to  explain  the  features  of  the 
goods  to  salespeople  that  have  recently  been 
taken  on  in  the  retail  store. 

One  of  the  lines  of  merchandise  for  which 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  have  long  been  cele- 
brated is  kid  gloves.  The  production  of  these 
is  supervised  through  the  firm's  Paris  organ- 
ization. In  addition  to  distribution  among  its 
customers  the  wholesale  supplies  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  glove  needs  of  the  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  retail  store. 

In  the  case  of  fabric  gloves  also  the  firm 
are  insistent  on  keeping  their  sources  of  sup- 
ply in  reliable  hands.  The  same  is  true  in  re- 
gard to  hosiery,  of  which  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
are  large  distributors.  Each  line,  be  it  lisle  or 
silk  or  fiber-silk  or  wool,  comes  from  the  same 
sources  year  after  year,  insuring  the  same 
standard  of  quality  in  the  respective  lines. 

In  these  two  departments,  gloves  and 
hosiery,  which  adjoin  each  other,  the  fixtures, 
as  in  other  sections,  are  designed  to  make 
buying  easy  and  save  the  customer's  time. 
Samples  are  shown  on  narrow  stands,  about 
four  feet  high,  the  tops  of  which  slope  on  each 
side,  on  the  order  of  a  rather  high  pitched 
roof.  Thus  the  samples  are  in  plain  sight, 
ind  in  the  case  of  hosiery — the  demand  for 
which  from  house  customers  is  very  great  on 
certain  days  of  the  week — the  sizes  in  stock 


are  marked  on  the  ticket.     As  a  result,  the 
customer  can  almost  make  up  his  own  order. 

One  of  the  many  strong  departments  In 
the  wholesale  is  that  of  the  fancy  cotton  and 
silk  and  cotton  fabrics,  including  dress  goods, 
skirtings  and  shirtings  in  woven  and  printed 
patterns,  percales,  cotton  challies  and  other 
wash  goods.  These  are  converted  by  the 
house,  the  gray  goods  being  obtained  from 
selected  mills  and  the  department  constantly 
striving  to  develop  the  most  attractive  and 
novel  patterns.  It  was  particularly  interest- 
ing during  a  visit  to  this  department  in  mid- 
summer to  discuss  with  its  head  the  styles,  de- 
signs and  fabrics  that  would  probably  be  in 
best  demand  for  the  spring  of  1922  and  note 
the  keen  insight  into  what  affects  demand  for 
a  certain  pattern  or  weave. 

In  this  department,  too,  as  in  others,  the 
effort  was  to  produce  the  best  possible  article, 
to  have  the  work  done  where  one  could  be 
surest  of  getting  the  best,  making  the  price 
question  secondary  to  the  desirability  and  fit- 
ness of  the  merchandise. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  other  dress  fabrics 
departments,  including  the  wool  and  worsted 
section  and  the  gingham  sections.  The  wool- 
ens and  worsteds  are  made  exclusively  for  the 
firm.  The  ginghams  are  produced  in  the  firm's 
mills  in  North  Carolina.  In  these  every  at- 
tention is  given  to  getting  the  best  possible 
effect  in  patterns  by  means  of  careful  bleach- 
ing of  the  white  yarns  and  selection  of  the 
best  dyes  for  the  colored  warps  and  fillings. 

Many  of  the  plaid  patterns  are  woven  on 
five  and  six-box  looms,  which  means  that  the 
number  of  colors  entering  into  the  pattern  is 
decidedly  above  the  average.  The  firm's  mills 
in  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  will  form  the 
subject  of  a  subsequent  chapter. 

In  the  silk  department  supplies  are  ob- 
tained not  only  from  the  firm's  own  silk  mill 
and  other  domestic  mills,  but  at  this  time  the 
buyers  are  making  trips  both  to  France  and 
the  Orient.  The  purpose  is  to  carry  such  a 
range  of  qualities  and  weaves  that  the  aver- 
age retailer  can  look  to  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
for  at  least  the  greater  part  of  his  silk  needs. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
INSISTENCE  ON  QUALITY  IN  MERCHANDISE 


TO  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  insistence  on 
quality  in  their  merchandise,  their  un- 
remitting efforts  to  see  how  good  and 
not  how  cheap  the  goods  could  be  made,  is  at- 
tributed in  large  degree  the  high  position 


as  to  how  this  improvement  was  made,  what 
steps  were  taken  to  get  that  line  of  goods 
just  a  little  better  (or  a  great  deal  better, 
it  may  be) ;  how  designs,  originated  in  the 
department,  are  furnished  to  one  manufac- 


Erccicd  in  1887,  the  eight-story  and  basement  buildiny.  covering  an  entire  square  and  which, 
today,  forms  part  of  the  firm's  wholesale  establishment,  testifies  to  the  foresight  ivhich  has  consistently 
characterised   the  flans  and  policies  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 


which  the  house  has  attained  and  held.  To 
get  a  clear  idea  of  how  consistently  this 
policy  has  been  adhered  to  and  carried  out, 
one  needs  to  visit  the  firm's  wholesale  insti- 
tution and  not  only  examine  the  merchandise 
but  talk  with  the  merchandise  managers  and 
merchandise  department  heads. 

Time  and  time  again  one  will  be  struck 
with  the  statements  made  by  these  gentlemen 


turer,  or  how  material  of  the  essential  char- 
acter is  supplied  to  another. 

Needless  to  say,  too,  the  efforts  to  produce 
merchandise  that  is  distinctive,  beautiful, 
artistic  and  reliable  are  just  as  constant 
and  unremitting  in  connection  with  the 
wares  that  the  firm's  own  factories  or  other 
plants  turn  out. 

In  the  case  of  Oriental  rugs,  for  example. 


107 


108 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


these  are  not  only  bought  by  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.'s  buyers,  who  visit  India,  Persia  and 
China  for  the  purpose;  the  designs  for  rugs 
are  sent  over  or  taken  to  the  makers.  In  ad- 
dition to  this,  the  rugs  are  made  according  to 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  specifications.  The  nap, 
for  instance,  must  be  of  a  certain  length — 
considerably  longer  than  that  of  the  stock  rug. 

These  specifications  and  requirements  can 
be  enforced,  because  in  these  days  Oriental 
rugs  are  made,  even  in  the  undeveloped  coun- 
tries, on  the  factory  system.  There  is  no 
operation  of  machinery,  but  the  weavers  work 
in  a  large  shed  under  the  direction  of  their 
employer.  One  such  factory  in  Amritsar, 
British  India,  has  in  operation  three  hundred 
looms,  or,  to  speak  more  accurately,  frames 
on  which  the  warps  are  stretched  and  at 
which  the  rug  makers  work. 

In  order  to  make  sure  of  getting  the  best 
goods  and  designs  that  can  be  produced,  both 
the  buyer  for  the  wholesale  and  the  buyer 
for  the  retail  visit  the  Orient  at  suitable 
intervals,  and  these  department  heads  are  ac- 
companied by  one  or  other  of  their  immedi- 
ate associates. 

Just  to  show  how  original  are  the  ideas 
conceived  by  these  men  and  how  undeterred 
they  are  by  any  difficulties  that  may  be  in- 
volved in  carrying  out  their  conceptions, 
take  the  case  of  a  rug  recently  made  to  their 
order  in  China.  This  rug  is  of  large  size, 
12  by  14  ft.,  and  is  of  extraordinarily  close 
and  even  weave.  The  quality  is  as  fine  as 
it  is  possible  to  produce.  Whereas  the  best 
regular  grade  of  Chinese  rug  has  100 
"strings"  to  the  foot,  this  Lama  rug,  as  it  is 
called,  has  120  "strings"  to  the  foot.  The 
chief  feature  about  it,  however,  is  the  de- 
sign, which  includes  150  figures  copied  from 
the  idols  in  a  Buddhist  temple  in  Pekin. 

The  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  buyers  visited 
the  temple,  and  the  thought  occurred  to  one 
of  them,  "What  a  wonderful  thing  it  would 
be  to  have  this  picture  that  we  see  worked  into 
a  rug!"  The  idea  was  laid  before  the  most 
skillful  rug  makers  in  China.  At  first  they 
declared  it  could  not  be  done.    They  were  pre- 


vailed on  to  try,  however,  and  after  a  year's 
labor  the  rug  was  produced.  The  colors  are 
beautifully  harmonized,  figures  of  the  gods 
and  goddesses  are  reproduced  with  rare  fidel- 
ity, and,  altogether,  the  rug  makes  a  show- 
piece that  will  unquestionably  become  famous 
the  world  over. 

Another  example — also  accomplished  in 
the  Orient.  In  order  to  insure  uniformity 
of  quality  in  hairbrushes  made  for  the  firm 
in  Japan,  rules  governing  the  manufacture 
of  such  brushes  were  drawn  up  in  the  Field 
department.  These  were  translated  into 
Japanese  and  through  the  firm's  offices  in 
Kobe  copies  of  the  rules  were  placed  in  the 
dwellings  where  the  brushes  are  made — the 
making  of  brushes  being  a  home  industry  in 
Japan. 

The  results  of  this  action  were  so  satis- 
factory all  around  that  a  representative  of 
the   Japanese  Government  personally  made 
a  request  for  copies  of  the  rules.     Subse- 
quently   the    Japanese    Government    estab-    : 
lished  a  bureau  charged  with  the  inspection 
of  brushmaking,  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
rules  being  used  as  the  basis  for  the  require-  / 
ments   imposed   on  the  operatives  by  their/ 
own  Government. 

Marshall  Field  &  Co.  went  further,  how- 
ever. In  the  brushes  made  in  Japan  the 
bristles  are  drawn  through  holes  in  the  wood 
block,  being  doubled  so  as  to  form  a  loop,  and 
through  this  loop  a  cord  is  passed,  which  holds 
the  bristles  in  place — so  long  as  the  cord  does 
not  wear  out.  In  many  of  the  Japanese 
brushes  the  cord  was  of  such  poor  quality  as 
greatly  to  shorten  the  life  of  the  brush. 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  started  in  to  remedy  this 
defect. 

Numerous  tests  were  made  until  a  cord  of 
sufficient  strength  and  one  which  could  be  fur- 
nished in  adequate  quantities  was  available. 
This  cord  was  then  supplied  to  the  brush- 
makers,  with  the  result  that  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  have  certainty  that  in  their  brushes  of 
Japanese  origin  the  bristles  will  stay  in  until 
the  other  parts  are  worn  out. 

To  still  further  prolong  the  wear  of  their 


Insistence  on  Quality  in  Merchandise 


109 


Japanese  brushes  the  firm  buy  selected 
bristles  and  supply  them  to  the  brushmakers. 

To  make  sure  also  that  the  brushes  are 
of  the  most  acceptable  design  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  supply  the  brush  operatives  with  either 
models  or  designs  for  the  blocks,  or  wooden 
parts.  They  have  also  conducted  various  ex- 
periments to  ascertain  which  woods  and  fin- 
ishes are  preferable. 

In  the  same  department  also  was  found 
one  of  the  numerous  instances  of  designs  be- 
ing furnished  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  to  the 
manufacturer.  This  was  in  the  case  of 
pyroxylin  goods,  or  so-called  imitation  ivory 
— a  mirror  of  attractive  shape,  which  has  be- 
come "popular"  to-day  because  of  its  adop- 
tion by  other  makers. 

As  another  example  of  how  the  firm  works 
for  the  improvement  of  domestic  merchan- 
dise one  may  cite  an  imitation  ivory  con- 
tainer for  a  powder  puff.  Unlike  the  ordinary 
article,  this  container  is  polished  on  the  in- 
side. A  small  matter,  perhaps,  but  it  makes 
the  container  look  much  more  attractive,  and, 
furthermore,  it  is  another  example  of  the 
dogged  persistence  of  Field  folks  when  they 
go  after  something — for  in  this  case,  as  in 
others,  the  manufacturer  said  it  could  not 
be  done. 

IN  the  development  of  numerous  lines  of 
merchandise  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  whole- 
sale, have  the  advantage  of  being  able  to 
draw  the  needed  materials  from  their  own 
stocks  as  well  as  the  aid  of  their  own  fac- 
tories or  workrooms.  In  the  furniture  de- 
partment one  may  see  examples  of  this  in 
upholstered  chairs  and  davenports  of  the 
highest  as  well  as  medium  grades.  In  one 
expensive  suite  the  hand-block  printed  mo- 
hair is  drawn  from  the  drapery  department. 
The  bases,  by  the  way,  are  made  in  the  firm's 
factory  from  designs  developed  in  the  furni- 
ture department  itself. 

Similarly,  there  is  wicker  furniture  show- 
ing marked  originality  in  shape  and  coloring, 
devised  by  men  in  the  department  and  pro- 
duced under  their  direction,  while  the  up- 


holstering of  seat  and  back  is  done  in  fab- 
rics which  also  come  from  the  wholesale 
drapery  section. 

Furniture  that  is  not  upholstered,  such 
as  dining-room  suites,  is  made  for  the  firm 
from  their  own  special  designs. 

As  an  example  of  how  the  house  takes 
steps  to  overcome  promptly  any  hitch  that 
may  arise  in  connection  with  the  supply  of 
any  kind  of  merchandise,  one  may  cite  the 
following: 

During  the  war,  as  many  will  recall,  the 
use  of  metal  for  other  than  war  purposes 
was  forbidden  by  the  War  Industries  Board. 
This  put  a  stop  to  the  making  of  metal  smok- 
ing sets,  among  other  things.  The  depart- 
ment of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  which  handled 
such  sets  went  to  work,  therefore,  to  produce 
the  stands  in  mahogany. 

Then  came  the  problem  of  producing  a 
glass  ash-receiver  which  should  have  a  circu- 
lar flange  so  as  to  set  properly  in  the  place 
provided  for  it  in  the  top  of  the  stand.  This 
was  finally  accomplished,  and  the  manufac- 
ture and  sale  of  the  stands  went  merrily  on 
— a  godsend,  no  doubt,  to  thousands  of  mer- 
chants who  had  been  wondering  how  they 
were  going  to  supply  the  demands  of  their 
public  for  smoking  sets. 

Then  the  department  went  farther.  They 
took  up  the  manufacture  of  lamps  and  can- 
dlesticks in  mahogany.  And  that  led  them 
still  farther.  They  began  to  make  these  ar- 
ticles in  polychrome  and  also  in  ivory  en- 
amel finish. 

And,  having  the  lamps,  why  not  make  the 
shades?  The  more  so  as  the  silk  or  other 
fabric  necessary  could  be  obtained  from  other 
departments  right  in  the  house. 

So  now  the  customer  in  the  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  wholesale  can  supply  his  needs  for 
lamps  and  shades  of  the  highest  class  and 
most  attractive  character.  He  can  even  get 
these  in  extraordinarily  novel  forms.  For  ex- 
ample, the  idea  suggested  itself  to  some  one 
in  the  department.  Why  not. use  for  a  lamp- 
shade a  rich  velvet  brocade,  the  figure  in 
velvet   and   the  ground   in   silk?      This   was 


110 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


made  up,  with  suitable  fringe  and  silk  ruch- 
ing,  and  lo  and  behold,  there  was  a  shade  of 
entirely  novel  style  that  would  grace  any  par- 
lor or  drawingroom. 

Another  product  of  this  same  workroom 
is  book-ends  in  a  variety  of  designs.  Still  an- 
other is  the  long-handled  decorative  mirrors 
which  in  many  houses  find  a  place  on  the  hall 
rack  for  the  use  of  callers. 

Other  lines  of  merchandise  made  from 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  designs  are  china  and 
silverware.  For  china,  designs  are  sent  to 
Japan  and  to  Holland.  Domestic  manufactur- 
ers are  shown  that  they  can  approximate  the 
finest  imported  ware.  We  were  shown,  for 
example,  a  vase  that  might  have  come  from 
Copenhagen,  but  was  made  in  the  U.  S.  A. 
In  the  designing  of  silverware,  models  are 
first  made  in  one  of  the  firm's  workrooms  in 
the  retail  store  and  the  design  embodied 
therein  is  made  up  by  the  manufacturer. 

The  old  conception  of  a  wholesale  house 
was  more  or  less  to  the  effect  that  it  handled 
goods  of  a  quality  not  higher  than  medium 
and  possibly  lower.  Any  one  who  needs  to 
have  this  idea  dispelled  as  regards  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  may  have  the  operation  per- 
formed by  a  visit  to  many  departments,  but 
perhaps  in  none  more  readily  or  strikingly 
than  in  the  jewelry. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  ought  to  have  been 
clear  to  readers  of  this  story  long  ago  that 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  wholesale,  is  "different" 
in  its  methods  and  in  the  character  of  its  mer- 
chandise. Still,  if  any  new  light  on  the  sub- 
ject is  needed  it  bursts  upon  one  in  a  dazzling 
way  when  one  is  shown  diamond  pins  in  plat- 
inum that  retail  for  the  tidy  sum  of  $1,500  or 
watch  movements  no  thicker  than  a  silver  dol- 
lar— hardly  that,  indeed — and  which  are  sold 
in  platinum  cases  for  some  $300. 

Then,  too,  there  are  women's  wrist- 
watches  in  oval  shape,  with  the  movement  also 
oval,  instead  of  round. 

Or  if  the  dealer  is  looking  for  something 
to  sell  for  the  lowly  sum  of  $5  he  may  be 
shown   what  the  department  head  describes 


as  "the  Ford  of  the  watch  business" — a  watch 
made  in  Switzerland  and  for  the  devising  and 
production  of  which  the  firm's  office  in  St.  Gall 
was  largely  responsible. 

The  movement  is  of  the  simplest  possible 
design  compatible  with  accuracy  and  dura- 
bility. The  dial  and  case  are  as  beautiful  in 
design  and  form  as  those  of  watches  of  the 
most  expensive  type.  The  crystal  ring  and 
the  back  are  attached  by  ingenious  devices 
that  are  perfectly  effective  and  yet  tend  to 
save  labor. 

This  jewelry  department  and  its  merchan- 
dise afford  evidence  not  only  of  the  kind  of 
goods  the  house  handles,  but  also  of  the  wide 
diversity  of  its  trade.  Few  department  stores 
handle  jewelry  that  sells  for  the  high  prices 
above  mentioned.  A  few  do ;  yes,  but  they  are 
the  rare  exceptions.  So  in  this  case,  as  in  that 
of  certain  other  departments,  furniture,  for 
example — it  is  the  specialty  stores  that  com- 
pose the  great  bulk  of  its  customers. 

In  connection  with  the  doll  department  im- 
provements in  the  character  of  the  merchan- 
dise have  been  made.  The  dolls  are  dressed  in 
material  supplied  by  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
fabric  departments,  and  care  has  been  taken 
to  see  that  these  dresses  are  better  made  and 
trimmed  with  better  materials  than  the  ordi- 
nary run  of  such  merchandise. 

There  is  study  devoted  also  to  the  dolls' 
hair.  The  wigs  are  of  the  best  material  In 
many  cases  the  dolls  are  shown  with  the  hair 
in  two  braids. 

For  toy  tableware,  dishes,  etc.,  the  firm 
supplies  the  manufacturers  with  special  draw- 
ings and  other  designs,  these  drawings  being 
forwarded  to  the  potteries  and  reproduced 
especially  for  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  Even  in 
the  matter  of  Christmas  tree  ornaments  the 
patterns  are  specially  made  for  the  firm. 
Thus  their  assortment  contains  many  original 
designs. 

In  children's  embroidery  or  needlework 
sets,  the  goods  are  supplied  by  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.'s  own  factory,  located  at  Monticello, 
Ind. 


CHAPTER  XX 
CAREFUL  SUPERVISION  OF  MANUFACTURING  PLANTS 


IN  the  last  chapter  reference  was  made  to 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  yam,  crochet  cot- 
ton and  spool  cotton  mill  at  Monticello, 
Ind.     Attention  will  be  given  in  later  chap- 
ters to  the  firm's  other  manufacturing  plants. 
At  this  stage  also  they  call  for  mention,  how- 


department  heads  have  the  benefit  of  close 
contact  with  enormous  numbers  of  critical 
consumers. 

This  is  obtained  through  co-operation  with 
the  merchandise  department  managers  of  the 
firm's  retail  store,  who  naturally  learn  of  any 


This  busy  scene  was  photographed  in  one  of  the  packing  rooms  on  the  eighth  floor  of  the  main 
building  of  Marshall  Field  &■  Co.,  wholesale. 


ever,  because  of  the  important  part  played  by 
the  wholesale  not  only  in  the  sale  and  distri- 
bution of  the  products  but  also  in  informing 
and  directing  the  mills  or  factories  as  with 
regard  to  the  character  of  the  merchandise 
that  will  sell  most  readily  and  the  quantities 
the  market  bids  fair  to  absorb. 

In  this  matter  of  information  as  to  the 
kind  of  merchandise  to  be  manufactured  the 


criticisms  or  other  comments  that  may  be 
voiced  by  the  public  while  shopping  in  the  de- 
partment. Such  expressions  are  reported  to 
the  wholesale  department  and  are  embodied 
in  suggestions  and  new  ideas  which  are  turned 
over  to  the  mill  or  factory  management. 

As  typical  of  the  methods  pursued  by  mer- 
chandise department  managers  in  directing 
the  mills  or  factories,  let  us  take  the  activities 


111 


112 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


along  this  line  of  the  department  which  han- 
dles the  products  of  the  Monticello  plant. 

The  plant  in  question  manufactures  a  wide 
range  of  needlework  materials,  including  knit- 
ting yarns,  mercerized  crochet  and  embroidery 
cottons,  and  mercerized  spool  cottons.  The 
head  of  the  wholesale  department  through 
which  the  mill  product  is  sold  makes  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  demand  for  all  of  these  lines 
and  prepares  schedules,  on  which  the  mills' 
production  is  based. 

The  advantage  of  this  planning  is  evident, 
since  it  is  clear  that  the  wholesale  branch  can 
more  readily  than  the  mill  keep  in  close  touch 
with  the  market  and  the  demand. 

Thus  the  mill  is  run  on  the  prospective 
production  for  a  certain  period  and  the  out- 
put is  proportionate  to  the  volume  of  business. 
Accurate  control  of  the  mill  is  further  carried 
on  by  constant  checking-up  of  stock  records. 

The  corset  department  being  located  close 
to  the  needlework  supplies,  it  is  fitting  to  state 
here  that  the  corsets  (which  the  wholesale 
branch  sells  under  its  own  brand),  are  made 
from  fabrics  purchased  by  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  and  supplied  to  the  manufacturers  and 
from  desig.is  prepared  by  the  firm. 

From  the  lace  department  also  the  lace 
manufacturing  plant  owned  and  operated 
by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  receives  direc- 
tions and  suggestions.  To  enable  women  to 
make  lace  collars  and  thus  make  a  demand 
for  the  laces  suitable  therefor  the  head  of  the 
department  had  designs  gotten  up  in  motif, 
or  medallion  form,  so  that  the  pattern  could 
be  cut  out  or  detached,  leaving  a  decorative 
end  to  the  collar  without  the  need  for  sewing. 

Another  suggestion  of  his  that  was  succes- 
fuUy  carried  out  was  the  putting  of  beading 
into  the  lace  as  part  of  the  lace,  thus  making 
it  unnecessary  for  the  consumer  to  sew  the 
beading  to  the  lace,  as  was  formerly  done. 

An  example  of  the  encouragement  given  to 
men  connected  with  the  business  to  evolve  and 
introduce  new  ideas  was  recently  afforded  in 
this  same  department,  which,  besides  laces, 
handles  veilings,  women's  neckwear,  chiffons, 
and  other  evening  fabrics.     One  of  the  men 


in  the  department  noted  the  use  of  organdies 
embroidered  in  check  or  square  designs  for 
the  making  of  collars  and  cuffs.  He  accord- 
ingly suggested  that  plain  organdies  could 
be  embroidered  in  Chicago.  This  idea  was 
taken  up  and  a  number  of  beautiful  designs 
were  produced,  all  of  which  simplify  the  mak- 
ing of  collars,  as  the  embroidered  line  forms 
an  edge  along  which  the  goods  can  be  cut,  thus 
giving  to  the  ends  of  the  collar  an  attractive 
shape. 

To  the  manufacturers  suggestions  were 
offered  by  this  department  as  to  producing 
goods  in  the  proper  width  for  vestees. 

Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  wholesale,  claim  the 
distinction  of  being  the  first  concern  in  this 
country  to  import  hair  nets.  The  firm  sent 
representatives  to  the  Orient,  where  the  goods 
are  made,  and  developed  standards  of  produc- 
tion. They  established  a  converting  room, 
where  the  nets  are  inspected  and  put  up,  with 
a  view  to  having  better  merchandise  as  well  as 
a  more  sightly  package.  This  method  is  still 
maintained,  yet  the  goods  sell  at  no  higher 
price  than  the  ordinary  hair  nets.  The  mat- 
ter of  quality  was  also  taken  up  with  pin  man- 
ufacturers, with  special  reference  to  the  point. 

While  we  are  on  the  subject  it  is  well  to 
note  the  careful  attention  given  to  the  mode 
of  putting  up  notions  as  practised  by  the 
wholesale  branch.  Every  effort,  by  means  of 
short-cuts  in  buying  and  saving  of  profits,  is 
exerted,  so  as  to  keep  down  the  cost  of  the 
article;  but  neither  trouble  nor  expense  is 
spared  to  have  everything  just  right. 

For  example,  an  outlay  of  $500  and  a  study 
extending  over  a  period  of  several  months 
were  involved  in  designing  and  having  worked 
out  a  trademark  design  for  so  apparently  triv- 
ial a  matter  as  a  five-cent  package  of  pins. 

All  of  this,  however,  it  is  held,  tends  to 
better  results  not  only  for  the  concern  itself 
but  also  for  the  retailers  who  are  its  custom- 
ers. It  all  makes  for  better  merchandising, 
and  usually  merchants  are  quick  to  appreciate 
this. 

An  incident  is  related  of  a  buyer  who 
made  a  determined  effort  to  obtain  a  price 


Careful  Supervision  of  Manufacturing  Plants 


113 


concession.  After  the  policies  of  the  firm  in 
the  matter  of  merchandise  and  their  reasons 
therefor  had  been  explained  to  him,  he 
said: 

"I  see  that  I  am  better  off  without  the 
extra  discount.  Put  it  into  the  merchan- 
dise." 


which  handles  handkerchiefs.  The  range  is 
so  extensive  that  it  seems  impossible  that  any- 
thing in  the  nature  of  a  handkerchief  cannot 
be  obtained  there.  Switzerland,  Ireland,  Ar- 
menia, Madeira,  Porto  Rico  and  Japan,  as  well 
as  our  own  land,  are  among  the  countries  from 
which  goods  are  obtained.    Yet  even  with  this 


At  inventory  time  Marshall  Field  &•  Co.  employ  temporary  help  in  large  numbers,  among  these 
being  many  school  teachers  as  well  as  accountants. 


In  the  fancy  leather  goods  line  handbags 
are  made  according  to  specifications  drawn  up 
by  experts  in  the  wholesale  organization.  In 
each  handbag  there  is  a  silk  tag  into  which  is 
woven  the  Field  trademark.  The  tag  can 
readily  be  removed.  It  is  put  there,  however, 
as  proof  of  the  firm's  effort  to  maintain  and 
improve  quality. 

ONE  of  the  largest  and  most  interesting 
departments  of  the  many  that  make  up 
the   Marshall   Fie'.d   &    Co.    wholesale  is   that 


information  probably  the  average  reader 
would  hardly  figure  that  the  number  of  hand- 
kerchief styles  carried  in  the  department  num- 
ber fully  8000. 

Here,  again,  there  is  a  constant  effort  to 
improve  the  quality  of  the  merchandise.  The 
embroidering  done  in  Switzerland  is  carried 
on  under  the  firm's  supervision.  This  is  a 
peasant  or  cottage  industry,  as  also  are  the  em- 
broidering and  hemstitching  done  in  Ireland. 
The  handkerchief  material  is  given  out  to  the 
Swiss  workers  in  a  large  building  owned  by 


114 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


Marshall  Field  &  Co.  after  the  cloth  has  been 
carefully  examined  by  the  firm's  trusted  and 
expert  employees.  The  goods  are  examined 
again  after  the  embroidering  has  been  accom- 
plished. 

The  cloth,  moreover,  which  is  sent  to 
Switzerland  to  be  embroidered  is  woven  in 
England  to  the  firm's  order  and  specifications 
and  is  bleached  in  Ireland.  In  the  Emerald 
Isle  also  the  hemstitching  is  done  before  the 
goods  go  to  Swiss  workers  to  be  embroidered. 
So  in  many  cases  a  handkerchief  is  quite  a 
traveler  even  before  it  crosses  the  Atlantic  on 
its  final  trip  to  this  country. 

In  Ireland  handkerchiefs  are  made,  hem- 
stitched and  embroidered  under  what  is  prac- 
tically the  control  of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
management.  That  is  to  say,  the  manufac- 
turer works  for  the  Chicago  firm  alone,  and, 
moreover,  he  makes  regular  trips  to  this 
country  to  confer  with  the  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  management  and  the  handkerchief  depart- 
ment head  or  his  immediate  assistant  makes 
visits  at  stated  intervals  to  Belfast. 

Beautiful  hand  block  printed  handkerchiefs 
are  produced  in  Ireland  under  these  forms  of 
supervision,  the  patterns  being  developed  and 
controlled  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  Linen 
fabric  for  the  making  of  handkerchiefs  in  the 
Zion  Lace  Industries  plant  owned  by  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  is  brought  over  from  Ireland. 

The  various  lines  of  handkerchiefs,  those 
8000  styles  above  mentioned,  which  include 
handkerchiefs  for  both  sexes  and  all  ages, 
and  which,  in  their  diversity,  compel  each  road 
man  to  carry  two  large  trunks,  packed  tight 
with  samples — these  various  lines  have  a 
mighty  broad  distribution. 

The  medium  grades  are  bought  by  stores 
all  over  the  country;  the  highest  qualities  and 
most  beautiful  kinds  in  point  of  sheerness  of 
material  and  delicacy  and  artistry  of  em- 
broidery are  stocked  by  the  more  exclusive 
stores  of  national  reputation. 

Extreme  care  is  given  to  the  way  in  which 
the  handkerchiefs  are  put  up,  it  being  an 
axiom  with  the  firm  in  the  case  of  this  line 
as  of  others  that  better  appearance  in  even 


what  some  regard  as  trifling  details  exerts  a 
powerful  influence  on  the  sale  of  the  merchan- 
dise. Even  the  little  matter  of  printing  the 
designating  numbers  on  the  ticket  instead  of 
putting  them  on  with  a  rubber  stamp  is  re- 
garded as  important.  In  boxing  the  fine  goods, 
too,  the  handkerchiefs  are  pinned  to  a  card,  so 
that  they  cannot  slip  around  in  the  box  and 
become  wrinkled  or  mussed. 

Marshall  Field  &  Co.  also  have  a  handker- 
chief organization  in  Japan,  where  silk  hand- 
kerchiefs for  women  and  for  men  are  made. 

Similar  attention  to  details  is  seen  in  the 
damasks  and  towels  made  in  the  firm's  plants 
in  North  Carolina  and  which  are  handled  in 
the  same  department  as  the  handkerchiefs. 
Always  the  question  is  not  how  cheap  the  ar- 
ticle can  be  produced  but  what  can  be  done 
to  make  it  a  better  article.  Careful  compari- 
son is  constantly  made  between  the  goods  of 
other  manufacturers  and  those  which  the 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  plants  are  turning  out, 
and  the  products  of  others  are  subjected  to 
rigorous  test  along  with  the  Field  products 
to  see  which  has  the  greater  wearing  quali- 
ties. 

It  is  not  possible  in  the  limits  of  this  story 
to  tell  in  detail  the  features  of  all  the  depart- 
ments. Attention  needs  to  be  given,  however, 
to  a  section  which  is  not  usually  found  in  a 
wholesale  house.  This  is  what  is  known  as 
the  house  furnishings  department.  The  fact 
is  that  this  term,  comprehensive  as  it  is, 
is  very  far  from  expressing  all  the  lines  car- 
ried in  the  department  in  question.  There  are 
automobile  supplies,  there  are  electrical  house- 
hold appliances,  and  there  are  vacuum  cleaners, 
washing  machines  and  refrigerators.  Table 
oilcloth,  manufactured  under  the  direction  and 
control  of  the  firm,  is  an  especially  big  factor. 
One  would  be  surprised  at  the  quantity  of  this 
one  item  distributed  by  the  department  dur- 
ing each  year.  Roller  and  ice  skates  form  an- 
other quite  important  line.  Then  there  are 
aluminum  and  enamel  ware.  Mops,  their  pro- 
duction controlled  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  and 
sold  under  the  firm's  brand,  should  also  be 
noted. 


Careful  Supervision  of  Manufacturing  Plants 


115 


Hardware  sundries  for  household  use  and 
for  drapery  purposes,  tools,  fancy  baskets, 
kitchen  cutlery,  hammocks  and  electric  fans 
add  to  the  diversity  of  the  lines  in  this  depart- 
ment. 

It  includes  other  kinds  of  merchandise, 
however — quite  important  ones,  too.  Among 
these  are  sporting  goods,  and  there  is  quite 
an  extensive  line  of  the  larger  toys,  such  as 
velocipedes,  kiddie  cars,  wagons  and  toy  fur- 
niture. And  still  the  end  has  not  been 
reached.  There  is  furniture  hardware.  For 
this  there  is  a  big  outlet  right  in  Chicago.  It 
is  claimed  by  Chicagoans  that  their  city  is 
a  bigger  producer  of  furniture  than  that  town 


of  which  one  instinctively  thinks  when  any- 
body says  "furniture,"  viz..  Grand  Kapids. 

Another  interesting  fact  about  this  "om- 
nium gatherum"  department  is  that  it  origi- 
nated with  the  handling  and  sale  of  drapery 
hardware.  Thus  it  is  one  of  the  oldest  de- 
partments in  the  house,  having  a  record  of 
some  thirty  years.  It  has  been  said  that  when 
a  new  line  came  along  and  they  did  not  know 
where  to  put  it  they  said  at  once,  "Oh,  that'll 
go  in  the  house  furnishings."  And  so  it  was 
done.  And  that  just  reminds  us  that  there  is 
still  one  line  in  the  "house  furnishings"  to 
be  mentioned,  and  that  is,  window  shades, 
made  in  the  firm's  factory  right  in  Chicago. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
VILLAGE  AT  FIELDALE  AND  OTHER  TEXTILE  PLANTS 


A  MOST  important  step  in  the  direction 
of   acquiring   and   operating   manufac- 
turing plants  in  line  with  the  views  of 
Mr.    Shedd    as    outlined    in    Chapter    XVII 
was  taken  in  1905.    The  action  in  question  re- 


Carolina,  at  Spray  and  at  Draper.  Three 
years  later  the  firm  purchased  the  remaining 
interest  in  these  plants,  and  thereupon  began 
to  develop  plans  for  manufacturing  textile 
fabrics  on  a  large  scale. 


i^     ' 

r^!Zzr 

—rr^,  Twgus 

«s=\          ''   ■■**' 

•^i,,mL£mm,     -...    '«»^^^K^if3^n;?^^^i» 

*^  If 

•r»ar 

>     --'    _^^i„  '. 

i' 

.-%^r 

LiS'- 

/J  section  of  Mnrsliall  Field  &  Co.'s  mills  at  Spray,  A'.  C,  viewed  from  an  airhhinc. 


suited  in  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  developing 
in  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  not  only  large 
mills  and  finishing  plants  but  also  model 
towns  inhabited  by  happy,  progressive  and 
intelligent  workpeople. 

What  has  been  accomplished  in  this  direc- 
tion and  what  is  planned  for  the  future  form 
one  of  the  outstanding  features  of  the  prog- 
ress and  growth  of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
organization. 

Early  in  the  year  named  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  had  acquired  a  tontrolling  interest  in 
certain  blanket  and  gingham  mills  in  North 


Later  on  extensive  tracts  of  land  were  ac- 
quired at  Leaksville;  Spray,  Draper  and  Leaks- 
ville  being  within  two  miles  of  each  other. 

A  marked  advantage  possessed  by  these 
mills  was  their  location  adjacent  to  water 
power  as  well  as  to  coal  deposits.  A  still 
greater  advantage  was  the  supply  of  intelli- 
gent white  labor.  Many  who  are  unfamiliar 
with  textile  manufacturing  conditions  in  the 
South  are  under  the  impression  that  the  mills 
in  that  section  employ  colored  operatives.  This 
is  far  from  the  case.  Colored  people  have 
been  found  unadapted  for  such  work — for  one 


116 


Village  at  Fieldale  and  Other  Textile  Plants 


117 


reason,  because  they  could  not  be  depended 
upon  to  work  constantly  or  regularly.  South- 
ern cotton  mill  operatives  are  whites,  and  in 
many  cases  are  the  descendants  of  English, 
Scotch  and  Irish  settlers.  Their  forebears 
were  skillful  in  the  use  of  the  spinning  wheel 
and  handloom,  and  this  dexterity  in  the  pro- 
duction of  fine  textiles  has  been  handed  down 
from  generation  to  generation.  In  the  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  plants  the  workers  are  of  this 
admirable  type. 

It  should  also  be  noted  that  during  recent 
years  the  employment  of  child  labor  in  South- 
ern mills  has  been  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
In  fact,  this  long-desired  change  had  come 
about  prior  to  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  pur- 
chase of  the  North  Carolina  plants.  It  will 
be  shown  later  in  this  chapter  that,  so  far 
from  any  child  labor  existing  in  their  mills, 
attention  is  given  to  employees'  health  and 
comfort  in  an  unusual  and  most  praise- 
worthy degree. 

In  1910  the  firm's  original  investment  in 
Southern  mills  was  greatly  increased.  In 
June  of  that  year  they  purchased  a  number 
of  other  mills.  Since  then  practically  the 
entire  mechanical  equipment  has  been 
scrapped  and  replaced  by  machines  of  the 
most  modern  type. 

The  mills  at  the  points  named  include  the 
Lily  Mill,  the  Nantucket  Mill,  the  Rhode  Island 
Mill  and  the  Spray  Woolen  Mill.  The  Lily 
Mill  manufactures  fine  dress  ginghams  and 
zephyrs.  The  Nantucket's  output  consists  of 
staple  and  dress  ginghams  and  outing  flannels. 
Both  mills  have  complete  spinning,  dyeing 
and  weaving  plants.  Cotton  blankets  are 
manufactured  in  the  Rhode  Island  Mill.  In 
addition  to  spinning  and  weaving  equipment, 
this  mill  has  a  complete  dyeing  plant.  Its 
production  of  cotton  blankets  is  about  2600 
pairs  per  day. 

The  Spray  Woolen  Mill  produces  wool 
blankets,  the  average  production  being  about 
1000  pairs  a  day.  All  of  the  processes  of 
manufacturing,  from  the  raw  wool  to  the 
finished  blanket,  are  carried  on  in  this  plant. 
The  expert  in  textile  manufacture  will  be 


interested  in  knowing  that  much  of  the  spin- 
ning accomplished  is  not  on  ring  frames  but 
on  mules. 

At  Draper  the  firm  owns  two  plants.  One 
of  these  is  the  Wearwell  Blanket  Mill,  the 
product  of  which  is  indicated  by  the  name. 
These  are  cotton  blankets  with  wool  finish. 
The  average  daily  production  is  5000  pairs, 
and  these  are  brought  out  in  more  than  300 
patterns.  The  mill's  own  spinning  plant  sup- 
plies all  of  the  yarns  used  in  weaving.  The 
weaving  room  has  480  looms  and  is  the 
largest  blanket  weaving  room  in  the  country. 
To  go  through  this  immense  weaving  room, 
with  its  tremendous  number  of  looms  in  op- 
eration, is  an  experience  that  few  ever  for- 
get. The  roar  of  the  machinery  in  operation 
is  almost  deafening,  with  the  rise  and  fall 
of  the  loom  harnesses  which  direct  the  warps, 
the  racing  back  and  forth  of  the  shuttles 
and  the  bell-like  clanking  of  the  endless 
chain  which  is  part  of  each  loom's  mech- 
anism. 

In  this  mill,  as  in  the  other  Field  plants, 
the  old-time  overhead  belting  has  been  re- 
placed by  the  electric  drive,  so  that  through- 
out the  floor  there  is  a  clear  and  unobstructed 
view  and  there  is  no  oil  to  drop  down  from 
the  shafting  and  soil  the  product  before  it  ia 
completed. 

Special  grades  of  cotton  are  used  in  this 
Wearwell  Blanket  Mill  in  order  to  make  possi- 
ble the  napped  surface  which  makes  these 
blankets  so  unusually  soft  and  wool-like.  The 
cotton,  moreover,  is  dyed  in  the  raw  stock  in 
standard  colors,  the  darker  shades  being  pro- 
duced later  by  mixing  with  cotton  already 
dyed  in  the  color.  Grays,  for  instance,  are 
produced  by  mixing  black  and  white,  tans  by 
combining  brown  and  white,  and  so  on.  The 
total  floor  space  of  this  mill  is  221,224  sq.  ft., 
which  is  equivalent  to  a  room  100  ft.  wide 
and  almost  half  a  mile  long. 

The  other  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  plant  at 
Draper  is  the  Wearwell  Sheeting  Mill.  This 
mill  has  a  floor  space  of  109,560  sq.  ft.  Its 
product  is  v/ide  sheetings.  Here,  again,  spe- 
cial care  is  exercised  in  the  selection  of  the 


118 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


raw  material  as  well  as  in  the  way  it  is 
worked  up.  In  addition  to  sheetings  and 
pillowcase  tubing,  dimity  bedspreads  are 
woven  in  this  plant. 

A  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  mill  is  located 
at  Leaksville,  N.  C.  In  this  mill  over  17,000 
satin  and  crocheted  bedspreads  are  turned 
out  week  after  week.  In  their  production 
Jacquard  looms  are  employed,  so  that  the 
most  beautiful  and  intricate  patterns  can  be 
embodied  in  the  product. 

At  Leaksville  also  is  located  a  knit  under- 
wear plant,  where  yarns  are  spun  and  knitted 
and  where  the  fabrics  thus  made,  after  being 
washed,  shrunk,  bleached  and  napped,  are 
made  into  garments  for  children's  wear. 
And  at  the  same  place  is  a  spinning  mill 
which  supplies  the  yarns  for  making  the 
knitted  fabrics. 

At  Fieldale,  Va.,  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  have 
a  mill  producing  fine  mercerized  cotton  dam- 
ask and  napkins,  huck  towels  and  terry  towels. 
The  latter  are  of  the  kind  often  referred  to  as 


Turkish  towels,  with  a  surface  composed  of 
small  loops.  This  mill  is  equipped  with  19,200 
spindles  and  530  looms,  of  which  130  are  of 
the  Jacquard  type. 

In  addition  to  the  mills  for  producing  tex- 
tiles, Marshall  Field  &  Co.  own  the  Spray 
Bleachery,  for  the  bleaching  and  finishing  of 
their  mill  products.  At  Spray,  also,  is  the 
firm's  American  Finishing  Mill,  where  their 
blankets,  ginghams  and  outer  flannels  are 
finished.  And  at  Eoanoke,  Va.,  is  a  plant 
for  finishing  their  muslin  and  knitted  under- 
wear. 

THE  entire  replacement  of  the  old  ma- 
chinery with  new  is  in  line  with  the 
spirit  by  which  the  entire  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  organization  has  continuously  been 
actuated.  In  their  own  plants,  as  in  their 
dealings  with  manufacturers,  it  has  been  the 
firm's  constant  aim  to  see  not  how  cheaply 
the  goods  could  be  produced  but  in  what  way 
they  could  be  improved.     "Quality"   is  the 


//  is  amid  such  scenes  as  these  that  the  Marshall  Field  &■  Co.  mills  in  North  Carolina  and  Virginia 
are  located.    The  photograph  shows  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  near  Fieldale. 


Village  at  Fieldale  and  Other  Textile  Plants 


119 


watchword,  and  the  means  for  producing  bet- 
ter merchandise  are  constantly  being  in- 
stalled. 

Nor  are  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  satisfied 
with  having  their  salesmen  merely  know  the 
goods  they  have  to  handle.  They  must  know, 
also,  how  the  goods  are  made.  With  this  end 
in  view,  after  the  purchase  of  the  additional 


In  these  days  of  giant  business  organizations, 
critical  analysis  of  all  which  makes  for  profit 
or  loss  in  a  business  is  of  vital  interest;  hence, 
anything  which  stands  out  as  a  master  stroke  in 
this  direction  merits,  and  will  surely  receive,  the 
attention  of  every  business  man.  A  practical 
demonstration  of  this  is  afforded  by  the  action 
taken  within  the  last  few  days  by  the  manage- 
ment of  the  great  selling  organization  of  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co. 


Typical  of  the  extent  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s 
room  in  the  Wcarwcll  Blanket  Mill  at  Draper,  N'.  C. 

mills  in  1910,  the  firm  sent  to  their  Southern 
plants  their  general  salesmen  and  several 
other  members  of  their  wholesale  selling  force. 

The  salesmen  had  the  opportunity  of 
looking  over  all  of  the  plants,  studying  the 
manufacturing  processes  and  noting  the  care 
used  in  production.  In  addition,  some  of 
the  firm's  new  plans  in  connection  with  the 
manufacture  of  textiles  were  laid  before  the 
gathering,  and  the  advantages  derived  from 
owning  the  means  of  production  were  empha- 
sized, so  that  the  salesmen  would  be  in  a 
position  to  pass  all  this  information  on  to  their 
customers. 

In  commenting  on  this  trip,  in  its  issue 
of  Dec.  31,  1910,  the  Dry  Goods  Economist 
said,  in  part: 


Southern    manufacturing   plants   is    the   weaving 


This  was  a  trip  made  a  week  or  two  ago  by 
some  thirty  members  of  the  general  sales  depart- 
ment of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  to  the  North  Caro- 
lina mills  of  that  concern,  in  order  that  these  sale 
producers  might  learn  all  about  how  the  goods 
are  made — from  the  selection  of  the  raw 
materials,  through  the  spinning  of  the  yarn,  the 
dyeing,  the  designing  and  the  weaving,  down  to 
the  finishing,  inspection,  packing,  etc. 

This,  we  believe,  is  the  first  time  that  such  a 
large  force  has  been  placed  in  a  position  to  re- 
ceive a  real  merchandise  lesson,  the  first  instance 
of  the  management  of  a  wholesale  house  going  to 
great  expense  for  the  purpose  of  giving  its  sales- 
men accurate,  direct  information  in  regard  to  the 
product  they  are  called  upon  to  handle. 

In  inviting  every  manufacturer,  wholesaler 
and  retailer  to  mark  well  the  introduction  of  this 
new  and  progressive  policy  in  connection  with 
wholesale  distribution  and  the  influence  which  it 
is  bound  to  exert,  the  Economist  extends  its 
hearty  congratulations  to  those  who  have  been 
the  first  to  put  it  into  practice. 


120 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


Early  in  the  ensuing  year  the  Dry  Goods 
Economist  further  expressed  its  admira- 
tion for  the  firm's  action  by  presenting  to 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  a  gold  medal.  This 
medal  bears  on  its  face  a  design  showing 
Mercury,  the  god  of  commerce,  pinning  the 


erate  rentals.     Fuel  is  supplied  to  the  work- 
ers at  actual  cost. 

The  land  holdings  of  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  in  and  about  the  towns  of  Spray,  Draper 
and  Leaksville  aggregate  4000  acres.  This 
has  made  it  possible  for  the  eleven  plants 


In  front  of  the  Graded  School  at  Spray,  N.  C,  maintained  hy  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  The  scholars  arc  having  a  "sing."  The  leader  is  in 
the  foreground  but  is  hardly  distinguishable  in  the  engraving. 


medal  on  the  breast  of  a  figure  representing 
the  dry  goods  industry.  On  the  reverse  are 
five  medallions,  surrounded  by  the  words: 
"Progress,"  "Originality,"  "Thought,"  "Tal- 
ent" and  "Energy." 

These  surround  a  raised  portion  bearing 
an  inscription  showing  to  whom  the  medal 
was  awarded  and  the  reason  for  the  award. 

THE  mills  at  Spray  and  the  other  centers 
are  located  in  a  beautiful  section  of 
the  country — in  the  foothills  of  the  Blue 
Ridge  Mountains,  along  the  picturesque 
Smith  and  Dan  rivers.  It  is  a  region  rich 
in  history  and  tradition,  with  an  excellent 
climate  and  a  plentiful  supply  of  pure  water. 
The  employees  live  in  clean,  comfortable 
houses,  leased  to  them  by  the  firm  at  mod- 


to  be  spread  over  a  sufficiently  large  area 
to  avoid  congestion.  Every  effort,  moreover, 
has  been  made  to  provide  for  the  physical, 
moral  and  mental  welfare  of  the  operatives. 

Problems  of  housing,  sanitation,  educa- 
tion, recreation  and  general  community  de- 
velopment have  been  studied,  and  solved.  This 
is  as  true  of  Fieldale  as  it  is  of  Spray,  Dra- 
per and  Leaksville.  This  work  has  been  car- 
ried on  by  a  separate  department  of  the  firm, 
organized  especially  for  the  purpose.  It  is  in 
charge  of  an  able  executive,  who  is  supported 
by  a  staff  of  assistants  of  experience  and  abil- 
ity. With  this  department  the  secretaries  and 
assistants  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  co-operate. 

As  in  the  other  activities  of  the  firm  in 
behalf  of  its  workers,  however,  paternalism 
is  strictlv  avoided.    The  aim  is  to  foster  and 


Village  at  Fieldale  and  Other  Textile  Plants 


121 


develop  initiative  on  the  part  of  the  people 
themselves  and  to  so  handle  each  undertaking 
as  to  create  harmony  between  the  operatives 
and  the  management — in  this  case,  the  mill 
officers  and  the  managers. 

The  homes  in  which  the  employees  live 
and  which,  as  stated  before,  are  leased  to 
them  by  the  firm  at  a  moderate  charge,  are 
comfortable,  well-constructed  cottages,  with 
electric  lights  and  other  conveniences.  At 
Spray  and  also  at  Fieldale  these  homes  form 
a  residential  suburb.  In  styles  of  archi- 
tecture the  dwellings  vary  widely,  so  that 
in  place  of  the  deadly  monotony  and  uni- 
formity too  often  characteristic  of  work- 
people's living  sections,  there  is  a  pleasing 
and  stimulating  diversity. 

Each  of  these  homes  is  surrounded  by  a 
spacious  lot,  and  the  tenants  enjoy  develop- 


ployed,  and  give  instruction  in  the  preven- 
tion of  disease,  the  care  of  the  sick,  home 
economics,  and  so  forth.  Special  attention 
is  devoted  to  the  water  supply. 

Educational  facilities  of  a  broad  charac- 
ter are  also  provided.  In  Spray  there  is  a 
graded  school  which  has  been  described  by 
some  of  those  who  have  seen  it  as  the  finest  J 
of  its  kind  in  the  country.  It  accommodates 
575  pupils  and  has  a  large  auditorium,  a  gym- 
nasium and  baths. 

There  is  also  the  Leaksville-Spray  High 
School,  with  provision  for  120  pupils.  And 
there  is  the  Draper  School,  which  can  take 
care  of  450. 

Vocational  education,  too,  is  provided  for 
the  mill  employees.  These  classes  are  free 
and  embrace  technical  courses  on  a  number 
of    subjects,    among    these    being    all    the 


Here  is  a  happy  crowd  of  mill  workers.  They  are  employees  of  the 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  plants  at  Draper,  N.  C,  enjoying  a  May  Day 
Festival 


ing    their    own    gardens,    flower-beds    and 
lawns. 

A  staff  of  trained  nurses  looks  after  the 
health  and  sanitation  of  each  of  these  com- 
munities. The  nurses  visit  the  homes  of 
the   workers,   without   charge   to   those    em- 


branches  of  manufacturing  cotton  and  wool 
textiles.  During  one  year  some  two  hundred 
men  were  enrolled  in  these  classes. 

There  is  also,  for  managers,  superintend- 
ents and  foremen,  a  course  in  scientific  pro- 
duction  methods.     This  course   is   of  three 


122 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


months'  duration,  and  each  time  it  is  given 
it  is  availed  of  by  something  like  two  hun- 
dred. 

Excellent  boarding-houses  have  been 
built  by  the  firm  and  are  conducted  along 
home-like  lines  for  single  people  who  are 
not  members  of  local  families.  These  houses 
are  located  where  they  are  most  convenient 
for  the  workers.  Each  home  or  boarding- 
house  is  in  charge  of  a  competent  matron, 
and  the  meals  are  planned  and  prepared  by 
a  graduate  dietitian. 

Following  out  the  principle  which  has 
proved  so  potent  a  factor  in  the  development 
of  other  branches  of  the  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  organization,  the  executives  in  the  mills, 
as  a  rule,  have  been  drawn  from  the  ranks 
of  the  employees.  Some  of  the  managers 
and  superintendents  were  working  in  the 
mills  at  the  time  the  plants  were  purchased 
by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  and  it  is  since  then 
that  they  have  reached  their  present  posi- 
tions. In  this  development  the  vocational 
courses  to  which  reference  has  just  been 
made  have  proved  valuable  factors. 

At  Fieldale,  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  under- 
took the  arduous  project  of  building  an 
entirely  new  industrial  city.  Fieldale  is 
located  about  twenty-five  miles  northeast  of 
Spray,  just  across  the  dividing  line  between 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia.  Lying  a  little 
farther  up  the  Smith  River,  the  new  town 
is  located  in  a  long  valley  formed  by  high 


hills,  through  which  runs  a  river.  Having 
purchased  2000  acres,  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
own  the  entire  valley  and  the  crests  of  many 
of  the  hills  by  which  it  is  enclosed. 

At  the  edge  of  the  river  there  has  been 
built  a  power  plant,  as  well  as  the  mill 
wherein  damasks,  napkins  and  towels  are 
produced.  Close  at  hand  are  a  bleachery 
and  a  packing  and  shipping  plant.  Back  a 
short  distance  from  these  works  is  a  plant 
for  the  clarifying  and  purifying  of  water 
for  the  bleachery  and  for  other  purposes. 

The  homes  of  the  operatives  are  on  the 
hill,  several  hundred  feet  above  the  river. 

Looking  into  the  future,  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  estimate  that  in  time  Fieldale  will 
have  a  population  of  15,000  people  and  will 
become  a  model  for  industrial  cities  in  the 
United  States.  Houses  of  the  Swiss  chalet 
type  have  been  erected  and,  as  is  the  case  at 
the  North  Carolina  plants,  these  are  rented  to 
employees  at  a  moderate  charge.  There  are 
also  churches,  schools  and  recreation  centers. 

Plans  are  also  under  way  for  the  erection 
of  a  six-story  cotton  spinning  plant  at 
Fieldale.  Equipped  with  250,000  spindles, 
this  will  be  one  of  the  largest  spinning  plants 
in  the  world.  Adjacent  to  it  will  be  a  weav- 
ing room  containing  5000  looms. 

Roanoke,  where  is  located  the  plant  for 
the  finishing  of  muslin  undergarments  and 
knitted  underwear,  above  mentioned,  is  sit- 
uated a  few  miles  north  of  Fieldale. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
ZION  LACE  INDUSTRIES  AND  OTHER  FACTORIES 

STRESS  has   been   laid   on  the   Southern  duced  three  grades  of  wool  rugs,  the  highest 

mills  owned  and  operated  by  Marshall  grade   being   probably   the   finest   grade   of 

Field  &  Co.  both  because  of  their  location,  Wiltons  made  in  the  United  States.     This 

equipment  and  products  and  because  they  grade  is  particularly  noteworthy  because  of 

include  the  development  of  model  towns  as  the  lustrous  sheen  which  is  one  of  its  char- 


Lace  machines  in  the  Zion  Lace  Industries  plant. 


well  as  industrial  plants.  These  Southern 
plants,  however,  are  but  a  part  of  the  great 
manufacturing  enterprises  carried  on  by 
Marshall  Field  &  Co. 

In  New  York  City  there  is  a  Field  fac- 
tory manufacturing  undermuslins.  In  close 
proximity  to  the  metropolis,  too,  viz.,  at 
Union  Hill,  N.  J.,  there  is  a  silk  plant  owned 
and  operated  by  the  Field  firm. 

One  of  the  most  important  manufactur- 
ing plants  owned  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
is  in  Philadelphia.     In  this  plant  are  pro- 

123 


acteristics,    giving    it    a    beautiful    velvety 
effect. 

Not  only  at  the  plant  but  in  the  de- 
partment of  the  wholesale  business  in  Chi- 
cago skilled  and  clever  designers  are  en- 
gaged in  the  production  of  new  designs  and 
color  combinations.  In  this  they  have  the  co- 
operation of  the  managers  of  the  firm's  Orien- 
tal rug  departments,  both  the  wholesale  and 
the  retail,  with  the  result  that  the  Field  prod- 
ucts are  marked  by  exceptional  originality  and 
beauty. 


124 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


It  should  particularly  be  mentioned  that  in 
the  third  or  lowest  grade  of  rugs  made  in  the 
Philadelphia  plant  the  designs  and  color  com- 
binations are  just  as  artistic  and  just  as  beau- 
tiful as  those  brought  out  in  the  first-quality 
goods.  Many  manufacturers  and  many  re- 
tailers, too,  hold  that  inartistic  patterns  must 
be  produced  in  rugs  that  are  to  be  sold  to  cer- 
tain classes  of  trade.  This  is  not  the  way  with 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  however. 

Carrying  out  the  principle  inaugurated  and 
continued  during  his  lifetime  by  Mr.  Field, 
the  rug  mill,  like  all  other  departments  of  the 
business,  is  actuated  by  a  keen  desire  to  edu- 
cate the  public,  to  teach  all  consumers  that 
artistry  is  just  as  desirable  in  low-priced  mer- 
chandise as  it  is  in  the  most  costly  products 
of  Oriental  looms.  It  is  almost  startling,  in- 
deed, to  one  familiar  with  rug  lines  to  go 
through  the  range  of  the  third  grade  of  rugs 
made  by  the  Field  mill  and  learn  how  artistic 
are  the  effects  that  prove  acceptable  to  what 
is  known  as  the  "popular"  trade. 

Another  manufacturing  plant  owned  and 
operated  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  that 
holds  special  interest  for  distributors 
and  for  the  general  public  is  the  Zion  Lace 
Industries  at  Zion  City,  111.  For  this  interest 
there  are  several  reasons.  One  of  these  is 
presented  in  the  conditions  under  which  the 
plant  was  established  and  for  some  years 
operated.  Another  is  that  the  plant  was  the 
pioneer  in  the  manufacture  of  laces  in  this 
country.  A  third  reason  lies  in  the  won- 
derful degree  of  improvement  in  the  product 
subsequent  to  the  plant's  becoming  the  prop- 
erty of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 

Readers  of  somewhat  advanced  age  will 
recall  the  rather  spectacular  career  of 
Alexander  Dowie,  "the  Evangelist,"  as  he  was 
generally  called,  including  his  efforts  to  es- 
tablish a  lace  industry  in  the  United  States. 

It  was  Dowie's  idea  to  found  a  city  whose 
inhabitants  should  consist  of  his  followers 
or  converts,  and  which  should  be  conducted 
along  religious  lines.  In  this  he  was  par- 
tially successful.  His  purpose  is  carried  out 
and  bids  fair  to  be  perpetuated,  in  a  measure. 


in  the  city  of  which  he  was  the  founder — 
the  City  of  Zion — and  in  the  lace  plant  which 
he  succeeded  in   organizing  and  equipping. 

One  of  Dowie's  aims  was  to  make  his 
people  self-supporting.  To  this  end  he 
brought  over  from  England  the  machinery 
needed  for  lace  manufacturing,  together 
with  a  number  of  operatives  who  had  the 
training  that  would  fit  them  to  train  his 
followers  in  the  operation  of  the  machines 
and  the  performance  of  other  lace-making 
operations. 

That  Dowie  was  a  pioneer  in  the  manu- 
facture of  lace  in  America  is  attested  by 
a  diploma  certifying  to  this  fact  by  the  Chi- 
cago Historical  Society. 

An  interesting  reminiscence  of  Dowie  and 
his  lace  plant  can  be  seen  to-day  in  the  lace 
curtain  department  of  the  wholesale  house 
of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  This  is  a  large 
portrait  of  Dowie,  bearded  and  venerable- 
looking,  as  befits  an  "Evangelist,"  and  woven 
in  lace  on  a  background  of  similar  material. 

With  the  death  of  Dowie,  in  1905,  his  en- 
terprise languished,  and  his  lace  plant,  with 
all  its  equipment,  was  purchased  by  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  Thus  the  Zion  Lace  Indus- 
tries became  one  of  the  Marshall  Field  enter- 
prises, and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  other  indus- 
tries taken  up  by  the  firm,  great  improvements 
have  been  effected,  both  in  the  plant  and  in  its 
product. 

To-day  the  lace  department  in  the  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.,  wholesale,  can  show  you  beautiful 
laces  in  various  forms,  from  narrow  Valen- 
ciennes up  to  wide,  shadow  lace  flouncings, 
made  in  one  branch  of  the  Zion  Lace  Industries. 

In  another  division  are  produced  lace  cur- 
tains and  curtain  goods.  At  the  present  time 
this  part  of  the  Zion  plant  is  running  on  yard- 
age goods  for  the  making  of  curtains,  more 
especially  Nottinghams  and  filet  nets. 

Since  1911  this  lace  curtain  fabric  divi- 
sion has  been  running  night  and  day,  and 
at  all  times  since  that  year  has  experienced 
a  demand  greater  than  it  could  supply.  For 
this  reason,  while  the  division  can  produce 
any  ordinary  type  of  lace  curtain  material. 


Zion  Lace  Industries  and  Other  Factories 


125 


its  product  is  confined  to  staple  merchandise. 

In  another  branch  of  the  Zion  Lace  In- 
dustries plant  fine  qualities  of  lace  handker- 
chiefs are  produced. 

Since  the  Zion  Lace  Industries  were  taken 
over  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  their  output 
has  been  trebled,  and  in  their  lace  product, 
especially,  there  has  been  a  wonderful  de- 
velopment of  quality  and  design.  In  fact, 
the  plant  produces  laces  so  fine  that  it  is 
difficult  to  distinguish  them  from  imported 
laces  of  similar  kinds. 

Zion  City  being  within  an  hour's  ride  of 
Chicago,  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  salesmen, 
both  in  the  wholesale  and  in  the  retail,  fre- 
quently visit  the  plant  and  familiarize  them- 
selves with  the  processes  of  manufacturing, 
thus  acquiring  a  fund  of  information  which 
they  can  pass  on  to  their  customers.  Fre- 
quently, too,  visiting  merchants  and  buyers 
are  taken  through  the  plant.  Women's  clubs 
and  other  organizations  have  also  visited 
the  plant  and  the  processes  of  lace  manu- 
facturing have  been  explained  to  them. 

Recently  a  motion,  picture  was  produced 
showing  how  fine  laces  are  made.  These 
films  have  been  shown  in  many  moving  pic^ 
ture  theaters  as  well  as  before  a  number 
of  clubs  and  other  associations. 

IN  Chicago  itself  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  have 
eight  manufacturing  plants,  these  being 
distinct  from  the  workshops  and  workrooms 
which  form  part  of  the  retail  establishment. 

One  of  these  plants  is  devoted  to  women's 
neckwear,  another  to  wash  dresses.  In  a 
third  sheets  and  pillowcases  are  made  and 
in  a  fourth  window  shades.  Burlap  bags 
are  the  product  of  a  recently  built  well- 
equipped  factory,  in  the  new  southwest  side 
manufacturing  district.  Cotton  and  wool  bat- 
ting is  produced  under  another  roof,  and  com- 
forters, pillows,  mattresses  and  box  springs  in 
still  another. 

The  eighth  plant  in  Chicago  consists  of 
laboratories  in  which  are  produced  a  wide 
range  of  perfumes  and  other  toilet  prepara- 
tions.   One  feature  of  this  plant  is  its  utter 


cleanliness,  something  which  diflferentiates 
it  in  no  small  degree  from  some  of  the  lab- 
oratories which  pride  themselves  on  the 
quality  of  their  product  and  yet  which  do 
not  manufacture  under  the  most  hygienic 
conditions. 

The  capacity  of  the  sheet  and  pillowcase 
plant  is  1000  dozen  of  these  kinds  of  mer- 
chandise per  day.  The  comforter  factory  dur- 
ing the  season  turns  out  100  dozen  per  day. 
The  burlap  bag  factory,  which  was  recently 
constructed,  is  equipped  to  care  for  the  manu- 
facture of  100,000  bags  per  day. 

The  batting  factory  makes  large  use  of  by- 
products from  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  mills 
in  the  South.  To  this  purpose  the  waste  prod- 
uct from  the  napping  machines  especially 
lends  itself,  so  that  the  batts  produced  in  the 
firm's  Chicago  plant  are  of  exceptionally  good 
quality. 

A  part  of  the  sheeting  used  in  the  sheet 
and  pillowcase  plant  is  supplied  by  the  firm's 
mills  at  Spray.  Other  material  of  this  char- 
acter is  obtained  from  other  sources  in  the 
gray  and  finished  in  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
bleachery  at  Spray.  Incidentally,  all  of  the 
goods  finished  at  Spray  are  sold  direct  to  their 
trade  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  or  consumed  in 
the  firm's  own  factories. 

One  proof,  among  many,  as  to  the  care 
exercised  to  have  the  product  exceptionally 
meritorious  is  found  in  the  tape  edge  or  selv- 
edge which  characterizes  the  sheeting  woven 
for  the  sheet  and  pillowcase  factory.  This 
sheeting  mill  has  been  running  night  and  day 
since  1915  and  has  difficulty  in  supplying  the 
needs  of  the  firm. 

As  to  the  outlet  for  the  burlap  bags,  these' 
being  a  class  of  merchandise  that  is  not  dis- 
tributed through  retail  stores,  inquiry  elicited 
the  statement  that  large  quantities  of  them  go 
to  potato  raisers  and  to  grain  growers.  Many 
of  the  bags  go  to  onion  growers,  and  we  were 
informed  that  these  bags  as  made  by  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  enjoy  an  especially  high 
reputation. 

The  toilet  goods  plant,  in  addition  to  the 
cleanliness   already   referred  to,   is   equipped 


126 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


with  machinery  of  the  most  modern  type.  All 
of  the  tanks  are  of  burnished  copper  tin-lined. 
The  perfumes  are  extracted  from  the  pomade 
or  grease  form  in  which  the  odor  of  the 
flowers  of  Grasse  and  Cannes  in  the  south  of 
France,  are  preserved  and  shipped  to  this 
country  in  the  same  manner  as  that  in  which 
this  work  is  performed  by  the  best  French 
perfumers. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  methods  pur- 
sued by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  that  in  every 
instance  the  establishment  of  a  factory  has 
been  the  result  of  the  initiative  of  some  de- 
partment head  and  of  his  insistence  on  the 
soundness  of  the  project  to  which  he  had  com- 
mitted himself.  The  firm  has  furnished  the 
capital  but  the  responsibility  of  fitting  up  and 
equipping  the  plant,  putting  in  operation  and 
keeping  it  running  has  been  entrusted  to  the 
originator  of  the  idea. 

As  just  one  example  of  this  take  the  bag 
factory.  The  firm  had  always  been  a  large 
importer  of  burlaps.  They  had  a  representa- 
tive in  Calcutta  looking  after  the  supplies  of 
this  article.  The  department  head  who  was 
handling  the  burlap  saw  that  there  were  pos- 
sibilities in  a  bag  factory.  He  put  the  propo- 
sition up  to  the  firm,  and  after  they  had  con- 
vinced themselves  that  he  was  possessed  of 
the   necessary    resolution    and   determination 


to  make  it  a  success  they  placed  the  entire 
project  in  his  hands.  To  him  was  entrusted 
the  acquisition  of  the  necessary  real  estate 
and  the  erection  and  equipment  of  the  factory. 
And  when  everything  was  ready  for  opera- 
tion he  was  given  general  supervision  of  the 
plant  and  was  made  responsible  for  the  mar- 
keting of  the  product. 

Still  another  important  manufacturing 
plant  in  this  country  owned  and  conducted 
by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  is  the  one  at  Monti- 
cello,  Ind.,  mentioned  in  Chapter  XX  and  in 
which  is  produced  a  wide  range  of  crochet  and 
embroidery  cottons,  yarns  and  other  material 
for  fancy  needlework,  as  well  as  spool  cotton 
and  sewing  silks.  Mercerization  is  one  of 
the  important  features.  The  crochet  yarns 
include  silk  and  worsted  and  mohair  and 
worsted.  This  plant  also  produces  warps  for 
the  use  of  weaving  plants. 

Long  ago  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  recognized 
the  growing  importance  of  Philippine  hand- 
embroidered  wear  for  women  and  children 
and  established  facilities  for  the  production 
of  embroidered  waists,  undergarments,  etc. 

A  long  and  varied  list  of  industries,  in- 
deed, in  which  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  are  suc- 
cessfully engaged.  A  mighty  development, 
too,  from  the  early  days  of  the  concern's 
business. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
WONDERFUL  WORKROOMS  IN  RETAIL  STORE 


IT  is  important  to  note  that  besides  the  fac- 
tories whose  products  are  distributed  by 
the  wholesale  there  are  workrooms  and  fac- 
tories owned  and  conducted  by  Marshall  Field 


tories  and  are  located  outside  of  the  retail 
store  building. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  work- 
room factories,  to  coin  a  sufficiently  expres- 


Floorcases  of  special  design  are  a  feature  of  the  candy  section  in  the  retail  store  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co. 


&  Co.  which  produce  goods  for  the  firm's  re- 
tail store.  Reference  to  these  was  made  in 
Chapter  XII.  They  well  deserve  extended  de- 
scription, however. 

Some  of  these  retail  plants,  though  known 
as  "workrooms"  have  developed  into  actual 
factories;  others  are  still  workrooms,  while 
there  are  other  plants  producing  for  the  re- 
tail which  were  originally  established  as  fac- 


sive  phrase,  is  that  which  is  still  known  as 
"the  jewelry  workroom."  It  is  much  more 
than  that,  however,  as  the  following  statement 
will  show. 

It  is,  indeed,  a  fully  equipped  factory,  em- 
ploying a  large  number  of  men  and  women 
and  having  several  important  departments. 
The  factory  is  capable  of  starting  with  the 
raw  metal  and  turning  out  anything  in  the 


127 


128 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


jewelry  or  silverware  line.  It  produces  rings 
and  pins  set  with  diamonds  and  other  precious 
stones;  it  makes  magnificent  cups  and  com- 
plete services  of  solid  silver.  It  has  a  foundry 
for  casting  all  kinds  of  pieces,  and  for  these 
the  factory  makes  both  the  designs  and  the 
models  from  which  the  castings  are  made.  It 
has  the  equipment  for  plating  silver,  copper 
and  nickel.  Incidentally,  it  uses  from  three 
to  four  tons  of  copper  a  year,  with  a  propor- 
tionate use  of  silver  and  gold,  as  well  as 
platinum. 

Much  of  the  copper  is  employed  in  the 
making  of  brass,  and  this  alloy  is  employed 
for  many  purposes,  among  these  being  picture 
frames,  artistic  figures  for  decorating  large 
mantel  clocks,  book-ends,  metal  plates,  and  so 
on.  There  is  "spinning"  machinery  which 
produces  metal  plates  that  are  famous  for 
^their  quality. 

Said  the  merchandiser  of  the  department 
in  which  the  products  of  the  factory  are  sold, 
as  he  pointed  out  the  good  qualities  of  one  of 
these  plates  or  platters,  "The  reason  we  make 
these  is  because  we  can't  buy  them  good 
enough.  We  can't  get  them  good  enough  out- 
side." That  expresses  the  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  purpose  just  as  many  another  department 
head  in  the  retail  and  in  the  wholesale  ex- 
pressed it  during  interviews  had  for  the  ob- 
taining of  facts  for  this  history. 

But  to  continue  with  the  things  this  so- 
called  "jewelry  workroom"  can  do. 
/^  It  grinds  lenses,  on  prescriptions  from  the 
store's  optical  department  and  on  prescrip- 
tions from  outside  oculists.  It  has  for  this 
work  machinery  of  the  most  delicate  character 
capable  of  complying  with  every  requirement. 
It  fits  the  lenses  into  frames  of  various  kinds. 

It  has  a  large  department  where  clocks 
and  watches  are  repaired.  At  the  time  of 
our  visit  a  dozen  men  were  at  work  in  this 
department  alone. 

The  factory  has  many  workers  employed 
in  engraving  silver  and  gold  pieces  of  all 
kinds.  The  designs  for  such  work  are  drawn 
on  the  watchcase,  spoon,  pin  or  whatever  the 
article  may   be,   by   a  young  woman   artist. 


This  for  the  reason  that  there  must  be  a  de- 
sign expressive  of  the  firm's  identity  and  not 
evolved  by  the  engraver. 

Designs  for  rings,  pins  and  other  jewelry 
are  drawn  in  colors  and  submitted  to  the  cus- 
tomer at  the  retail  counter,  who  can  thus 
make  her  selection  and  have  the  article  made 
to  suit  her  individual  taste. 

The  engraving  section  also  works  on  call- 
ing cards  and  copper-plate  engraving  for 
other  purposes.  Wonderfully  fine  and  delicate 
lettering,  or  "text",  to  use  the  technical  term, 
is  a  feature  with  this  branch.  It  is  further 
noteworthy  that  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  have 
succeeded  in  perfecting  machines  which  print 
this  fine  and  delicate  "text"  with  greater  sure- 
ness  and  accuracy  than  can  be  done  by  hand. 

Another  important  and  most  rich  and  ar- 
tistic line  for  which  this  factory  is  respon- 
sible is  engraved  stationery.  The  monogram 
designs  worked  out  and  applied,  in  colors,  in 
gold,  in  silver  or  in  combinations  of  some  of 
these  are  most  original  and  beautiful.  They 
are  truly  a  delight  to  the  eye  and  the  more 
so  as  they  harmonize  or  contrast  most  ef- 
fectively with  the  hue  of  the  paper  to  which 
they  are  applied. 

One  of  the  newest  and  most  alluring  of 
these  monogram  designs  is  the  "mosaic",  so- 
called  because  it  faithfully  reproduces  the  mo- 
tifs of  the  mosaic  jewelry  made  in  Venice  and 
so  greatly  admired  by  tourists  when  visiting 
Italy. 

Near  to  the  engraving  section  may  be  seen 
young  women  painting  designs  in  colors  on 
small  glass  trays.  Others  are  also  painting 
designs  on  glass  pieces,  but  these  designs  are 
painted  on  the  gold  decoration  of  the  glass 
and  when  the  pieces  have  gone  through  the 
proper  process  the  designs  alone  will  be  in  the 
gold. 

The  factory  not  only  makes  metal  handbag 
frames ;  it  also  makes  the  bags — in  leather 
as  well  as  in  fabric.  It  repairs  traveling  bags 
and  suitcases.  It  makes  another  kind  of  bag, 
viz.,  those  of  cotton,  in  close  semblance  of 
chamois,  for  the  protection  of  silver  articles. 

There  is  much  that  is  practical  as  well  as 


Wonderful  W  orkrooms  in  Retail  Store 


129 


artistic  about  this  "jewelry  workroom."  It 
looks  after  its  own  shipping  and  delivery.  It 
takes  care  that  its  goods  shall  reach  the  cus- 
tomer in  the  best  possible  shape.  To  this  end, 
every  article  goes  under  the  careful  and  ex- 
pert eyes  of  an  inspector  before  being  sent 
away,  and  special  forms  of  protection  are  em- 
ployed. Note  particularly  the  way  the  factory 
puts  up  large  clocks  that  have  been  entrusted 
to  it  for  repair. 

These  do  not  go  into  a  package  surrounded 
by  excelsior.  They  are  placed  in  fiber-made 
containers  made  for  the  purpose,  and  around 
and  above  and  below  the  timepiece  is  placed 
a  thickly  wadded  cloth. 

This  "jewelry  workroom"  doubtless  de- 
rives its  everyday  appellation  from  the  fact 
that  when  it  was  established  eighteen  years 
ago  it  was  a  jewelry  workroom — just  that  and 
nothing  more.  Like  every  other  division  of 
the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  institution,  it  has 
grown  and  developed.  And,  as  in  every  other 
division  of  the  great,  far-spreading  institu- 
tion, men  have  grown  with  it. 

The  man  who  has  direct  charge  of  the  fac- 
tory was  formerly  employed  at  the  desk  in  the 
store  where  articles  of  jewelry  and  kindred 
nature  were  received  for  repair.  He  was 
found  to  have  a  good  head  for  manufacturing 
and  was  transferred  t6  the  factory.  He  has 
now  been  at  the  head  of  the  plant  for  several 
years,  though,  as  above  suggested,  under  the 
general  direction  of  the  merchandiser  of  those 
departments  of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  re- 
tail store  which  handle  the  factory's  diversi- 
fied and  costly  products. 

The  boot  and  shoe  plant,  in  which,  in  addi- 
tion to  repairing,  custom  footwear  is  made  for 
customers  of  the  retail  store,  is  another  ex- 
ample of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  thoroughness 
and  determination  to  produce  only  the  best. 

When  we  entered  this  workroom  we  fairly 
gasped  with  astonishment.  We  were  far  from 
being  prepared  to  find  a  plant  of  such  magni- 
tude, even  though  we  well  knew  that  with  up- 
stairs and  basement  shoe  sections  of  such  ex- 
tent as  those  in  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  store 
the   repair   demand  would   be  a   tremendous 


factor.  Inquiry  of  the  department  head  elic- 
ited the  statement  that  the  area  of  the  shoe 
sections  is  as  follows: 

Upstairs  in  the  main  store  building, 
20,500  sq.  ft.;  basement  in  main  building, 
10,600  sq.  It.;  shoe  department  in  the  Store 
for  Men,  8000  sq.  ft. 

Not  only  does  the  shoe  workshop  do  all 
kinds  of  repairing.  It  is  also  a  complete  shoe- 
making  plant.  It  turns  out  some  thousands  of 
pairs  annually  and  in  so  doing  performs  all 
the  operations  of  shoe  manufacture,  including 
the  cutting  and  sewing  of  all  uppers. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  custom  shoe 
business  carried  on  by  the  Field  store  is  in 
the  making  of  orthopedic  footwear,  and  it 
is  surprising  as  well  as  pitiful  to  observe  some 
of  the  lasts  on  which  shoes  for  deformed  feet 
are  made.  While  the  production  of  footwear 
prescribed  by  physicians  constitutes  a  large 
part  of  the  plant's  business,  it  is  by  no  means 
in  the  majority.  The  normal-footed  custom- 
ers who  go  to  Field's  to  have  their  footwear 
made  to  order  are  numerous  also. 

That  those  who  deal  with  this  shoe  fac- 
tory, for  such  it  really  is,  are  well  pleased 
with  its  work  is  unmistakably  manifested  by 
the  number  of  times  they  come  back  for  more. 
Many  of  the  customers  have  their  private  lasts. 
Picking  up  one  of  these  at  random,  the  de- 
partment head  pointed  to  the  numbers  placed 
on  it  for  keeping  track  of  orders.  These  num- 
bers showed  that  orders  had  been  placed  by 
the  customer  in  question  no  less  than  fourteen 
times.  Orders  are  received  from  all  parts  of 
the  country. 

This  plant,  which  now  employs  from  75 
to  80  skilled  workmen  in  repairing  and  making 
shoes,  was  started  in  a  small  way  as  a  repair 
shop  many  years  ago.  It  was  developed 
largely  through  the  initiative  of  the  depart- 
ment head,  who  saw  the  opportunities  pre- 
sented in  the  making  of  orthopedic  footwear 
to  order  and  began  to  seek  the  co-operation  of 
physicians.  The  first  pair  of  shoes  turned 
out  in  the  shop  was  made  by  the  department 
head  himself. 

Another  example  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s 


130 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


entering  on  manufacture  at  the  instance  and 
insistence  of  a  member  of  the  store  personnel 
is  presented  by  the  candy  department  and  fac- 
tory in  the  retail  store.  The  man  who  many 
years  ago  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  getting 
this  branch  of  the  business  started,  and  who 
still  directs  it,  was  employed  in  the  account- 
ing and  systems  offices.  He  was  desirous  of 
getting  into  the  merchandising  end  and  saw 
that  in  the  making  and  selling  of  candy  there 
was  an  opportunity  both  for  himself  and  the 
firm. 

Thus  there  has  been  developed  and  built 
up  what  is  believed  to  be  the  largest  candy 
factory  in  this  country  which  produces  high- 
est quality  goods.  The  character  and  extent 
of  the  candy  business  in  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.'s  retail  store  is  evident  to  any  one  who 
visits  the  department  and  observes  the  mer- 
chandise and  the  scale  on  which  the  business 
is  carried  on. 

There  are  numerous  points  about  the  de- 
partment itself  which  are  well  worthy  of  note 
by  merchants.  All  of  the  candy  handled  in 
the  department  is  made  in  the  firm's  plant, 
which  is  located  on  the  top  floor  of  the  main 
retail  building.  Behind  the  wall  shelving  in 
the  department  space  is  provided  for  the 
carrying  of  stock  and  the  wrapping  of  goods. 
This  stock  is  carried  in  spotlessly  clean  trays, 
in  covered  tin  canisters,  or,  in  the  case  of 
small  hard  candies,  in  metal  bins  above  the 
counters.  From  these  bins  the  candies  drop 
at  the  touch  of  a  lever. 

The  purpose  of  these  stock  and  packing 
spaces  is  to  quickly  supply  a  customer  with 
any  kind  of  candy  she  may  ask  for,  even  if 
she  does  not  see  it  in  the  floorcases  in  which 
goods  are  carried  as  well  as  displayed. 

These  floorcases  were  specially  designed 
by  the  department  head.  The  woodwork  is  re- 
duced to  a  minimum,  and  instead  of  the  flat 
top  and  wholly  straight-up-and-down  front, 
the  floorcase  slopes  backwards  from  a  point 
about  half-way  between  the  floor  and  the  top 
of  the  case.  This  gives  increased  display 
space  and  high  visibility ;  there  is  no  reflectica 
to  interfere  with  the  view  of  the  goods  within. 


To  insure  perfect  cleanliness  there  is  in 
connection  with  each  stock  and  packing  space 
a  washstand  with  towels. 

Specialization  in  candies  is  carried  to  a 
fine  point.  There  are  birthday  boxes — a  dif- 
ferent color  for  each  month  in  the  year,  these 
colors  matching  those  of  the  birthstone :  sap- 
phire, emerald,  topaz,  or  whatever.  For  the 
diamond  there  is  a  white  box  with  high  lus- 
trous finish;  pearl  is  represented  by  white 
with  a  soft,  mat  finish.  For  each  month  there 
is  an  appropriate  verse  of  poetry  daintily 
printed  on  the  inside  of  the  lid. 

There  are  boxes  wherein  the  candy  is  ar- 
ranged so  as  to  suggest  the  national  emblem, 
the  stripes  in  red  and  in  white  and  the  union 
in  blue  candy  interspersed  with  fragments  in 
glittering,  star-like  effect. 

There  are  baskets  of  candy  put  up  for 
convalescents. 

There  is  the  bridal  box,  in  which  the 
candy  is  emblematical  of  matrimony.  There 
is  an  old  shoe  made  of  chocolate.  The  choco- 
lates of  ordinary  shape  bear  the  initial  of  the 
bride  or  groom.  Inside  the  lid  is  printed  in- 
formation relative  to  wedding  customs  and 
their  origin;  the  casting  of  the  shoe,  the 
throwing  of  rice,  and  so  forth.  And  on  re- 
moving the  tray  the  newly-weds  are  reminded 
that  even  matrimony  has  its  crosses  by  an 
emblem  of  this  shape  made  by  duly  arranging 
dark  chocolates  and  white  bonbons. 

Candy  made  in  the  retail  store  factory  is 
also  sold  in  the  basement.  There,  however, 
the  goods  are  handled  more  in  the  ordinary 
way. 

Absolute  cleanliness,  daylight  in  every  sec- 
tion and  the  use  of  modern  methods  and  ap- 
pliances mark  the  plant,  on  the.  thirteenth 
floor,  in  which  the  goods  are  made.  Skylights 
and  windows  make  the  rooms  bright.  The 
ventilation  system  makes  them  airy.  Washing 
sinks  and  a  liberal  supply  of  fresh  towels  in- 
sure the  absence  of  dirt  or  other  foreign  mat- 
ter on  hands  or  in  utensils.  The  floors  are 
tiled.    Whiteness  is  everywhere. 

To  provide  a  low  temperature  in  which  to 
carry  on  the  flnal  operation  of  "dipping"  there 


Wonderful  Workrooms  in  Retail  Store 


131 


is  a  spacious  room  in  which  refrigerated, 
washed  air  is  forced  through  ducts  and  drawn 
out  by  means  of  fans.  In  this  room  we  saw 
pure  white  of  egg  used  for  chocolate  creams. 
Stock  is  kept  in  this  same  low  temperature  on 
shelves  behind  glass. 

The  cream  used  in  the  plant  is  of  the 
finest  quality  and  direct  from  the  farm.  It 
contains  22  per  cent  of  butter  fat.  Hard 
candies  are  made  before  open  fires.  The  cool- 
ing of  candies  is  done  on  slabs  of  steel  or 
marble  refrigerated  in  the  proper  degree. 

We  were  informed  furthermore  that  no 
preservatives  are  employed  in  the  making  of 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  candies. 

All  of  the  workrooms  in  the  Field  store  are 
well  lighted,  but  to  none  does  this  statement 
apply  more  fully  than  to  the  one  in  which 
skins  and  furs  are  treated  and  made  into  gar- 
ments or  pieces  and  customers'  garments, 
etc.,  are  cleaned  and  repaired.  North  light  is 
a  decided  advantage  in  the  handling  of  furs 
and  in  the  selection  of  garments  made  there- 
from; so  in  this  workroom  we  find  plenty  of 
windows  facing  in  the  right  direction  and 
counters  and  other  appliances  set  close  to 
these  windows. 

The  equipment  includes  blowers,  using 
compressed  air,  for  removing  dust,  moths, 
etc.,  and  also  machines  combining  beating  as 
well  as  suction  devices  for  what  might  be 
termed  "obstinate  cases."  There  are  circular 
revolving  bins  in  which  pelts  are  softened  and 
various  other  appliances. 

The  fur  storage  rooms  are  close  at  hand. 
Of  these  freezing  temperature  vaults  there 
are  three,  each  with  four  tiers  or  floors. 
These  vaults  handle  in  the  course  of  a  year 
about  40,000  pieces  and  figured  on  the  value 
set  on  the  garments  and  other  articles  by  the 
customers  this  represents  a  value  of  not  less 
than  $12,000,000. 

The  garments  and  pieces  made  up  in  this 
plant  and  sold  in  the  retail  store  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  are  of  the  very  highest  type.  The 
number  of  operatives  employed  averages  200. 

The  plant  in  which  millinery  is  designed 
and  made  up  for  sale  in  the  retail  and  also  for 


custom  orders  placed  by  women  who  desire 
something  exclusive,  is  as  light  and  airy  as 
the  other  factories  and  workrooms. 

It  is  divided  into  five  rooms,  or  sections, 
each  of  which  is  under  the  guidance  of  a  head 
trimmer,  the  whole  being  under  the  direction 
and  supervision  of  a  manager. 

There  are  made  up  for  stock  in  the  retail 
during  each  year  no  less  than  60,000  hats,  in 
addition  to  all  the  hats  made  up  to  suit  indi- 
vidual or  exclusive  ideas  on  the  part  of  cus- 
tomers. All  operations  in  hat  developing  are 
carried  on.  In  some  cases  the  hat  frame  is 
molded  to  fit  the  customer's  head. 

Many  orders  are  taken  for  hats  to  be  de- 
signed and  made  up  for  weddings  or  other 
important  functions  of  a  fashionable  nature. 
Frequently  the  entire  millinery  outfit  for  the 
bride  and  her  bridesmaids  is  thus  furnished 
by  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  millinery  section, 
with  the  aid  of  the  workrooms. 

A  number  of  ideas  and  methods  have  been 
conceived  and  put  into  practice  in  this  milli- 
nery workroom  that  are  well  worthy  of  study 
and  emulation  on  the  part  of  department 
stores  and  millinery  concerns.  There  are  in 
the  machine  section  several  complete  equip- 
ments, each  of  which  serves  certain  units. 
Thus,  if  a  girl  needs  to  use  an  ironing  table, 
for  example,  she  has  to  travel  but  a  short  dis- 
tance.   This  saves  both  time  and  energy. 

Flowers,  ornaments  and  ribbons  are  dis- 
played in  floorcases,  just  as  they  would  be  in  a 
retail  store.  These  displays  are  changed  from 
time  to  time.  The  purpose  of  this  is  to  keep 
goods  before  the  eyes  of  the  trimmers.  Often 
a  girl  will  stop  in  passing  one  of  the  displays. 
Something  there  has  caught  her  eye  and  given 
her  an  idea.  It  has  just  occurred  to  her  that 
she  can  use  that  flower  or  ribbon  or  whatever 
in  work  on  which  she  is  engaged. 

One  result  of  this  method  of  displaying 
goods  is  that  a  demand  can  be  created  on 
the  part  of  the  trimmers  for  materials  which 
are  perfectly  good  but  are  perhaps  not  quite 
so  new  as  those  the  trimmer  would  naturally 
choose  were  it  not  for  the  suggestions  which 
the  displays  provide. 


132 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


Another  idea  that  is  bringing  splendid  re- 
sults is  the  use  of  specially  made  boxes.  These 
boxes  have  glass  inserted  in  the  front,  so  that 
the  contents  are  visible.  In  the  case  of  flow- 
ers and  plumage  there  is  a  partition  near  the 
front,  in  which  a  sample  is  placed.  In  the 
case  of  silks  and  velvets  no  such  partition,  of 
course,  is  necessary.  The  boxes  are  placed  In 
plain  wood  shelving  built  to  accommodate  the 
box  without  waste  of  space. 

These  boxes  are  of  solid,  substantial  char- 
acter. They  are  easy  to  open  and  close,  and 
thus  minimize  the  danger  of  carelessness 
which  leads  to  injured  or  damaged  merchan- 
dise. Moreover,  in  connection  with  the  dis- 
plays they  tend  to  create  in  the  minds  of  the 
workers  a  respect  for  their  merchandise.  This 
is  a  mighty  valuable  attitude  from  several 
standpoints,  more  especially  when,  as  in  this 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  workroom,  the  average 
number  of  workpeople  is  around  250. 

The  foregoing  are  just  a  few  conditions 


which  cause  this  millinery  workroom  of  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  to  differ  from  those  in  far 
too  many  retail  stores  in  this  important  par- 
ticular: that  it  is  a  profit-maker. 

As  already  indicated,  in  addition  to  the 
plants  located  on  upper  floors  of  the  main  re- 
tail building,  there  are  several  workrooms  and 
actual  factories  operated  in  behalf  of  the  re- 
tail and  located  in  some  other  structure. 

In  one  of  these  outside  factories  are  manu- 
factured clothing  for  men,  young  men  and 
boys.  This  plant,  located  on  Western  Avenue, 
is  wholly  modern  in  equipment,  having  been 
put  in  operation  in  1919. 

The  rug,  carpet  and  furniture  workroom 
is  located  in  a  ten-story  building  at  Fulton 
and  Desplaines  streets,  this  building  also 
serving  as  the  warehouse  for  the  retail  re- 
serve stocks  of  those  lines.  This  last  men- 
tioned plant  employs  275  operatives,  making 
goods  to  order  for  customers  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.'s  retail  store. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
SYSTEM  AND  METHODS  IN  WHOLESALE  BRANCH 


WHAT  may  be  termed  system  methods 
can  be  touched  on  in  a  history  of  this 
kind  only  in  so  far  as  they  tend  to 
demonstrate  the  care  for  the  customers'  in- 
terests which  has  been  so  important  a  factor 
in  the  upbuilding  of  the  business. 


the  orders  that  have  thus  come  in.  This  saves 
a  delay  of  several  hours  that  would  otherwise 
occur. 

In  the  packing  and  shipping  rooms,  too, 
accurate  track  is  kept  of  the  progress  being 
made   in   the  filling   of   each   order.     Conse- 


Part   of   the   extensive   hading   platform   which   runs  aluny   the   Quiitcy  Street   side   of  the   mam 
wholesale  building. 


Among  such  methods  in  force  with  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.,  wholesale,  is  that  of  keeping 
a  night  force  engaged  in  opening  the  mail  and 
segregating  the  orders  according  to  depart- 
ments. Under  this  plan  the  mail  is  brought 
into  the  building  at  various  times  during  the 
night  and,  as  a  result  of  this  immediate  han- 
dling, the  order-filling  force,  on  arriving  at 
eight  a.  m.,  is  enabled  to  get  right  to  work  on 


quently,  if  a  request  comes  in  for  hurry-up 
work  on  a  certain  shipment  it  receives  im- 
mediate attention. 

Saving  of  time  and  labor  is  effected  wher- 
ever possible  in  the  handling  of  goods.  A 
quaint  sight  in  the  basement  of  the  warehouse 
and  service  building  across  Quincy  Street 
from  the  main  wholesale  building  is  a  tractor 
hauling    a    string    of    the    wheeled    hampers 


133 


134 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


which  in  most  if  not  all  other  establish- 
ments are  propelled  by  man  power.  Tractors 
equipped  with  an  elevating  device  are  also 
used  in  the  firm's  warehouses  for  the  stacking 
of  heavy  cases. 

A  partial  conception  of  the  magnitude  of 
the  wholesale  business  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
is  afforded  by  the  loading  platform  which  ex- 
tends along  the  greater  part  of  the  Quincy 
Street  side  of  the  main  building.  This  plat- 
form is  protected  by  a  roof  or  canopy  of  steel 
and  glass.  All  day  and  every  day  motor 
trucks  and  wagons  are  backing  up  to  this  plat- 
form, receiving  their  loads  and  departing  for 
freight  station  or  pier.  The  number  of  vehi- 
cles that  can  be  loaded  at  one  time  is  18. 

The  trucks  and  wagons  employed  by  the 
wholesale  are  housed  and  cared  for  in  the  cen- 
tral garage,  to  which  reference  has  been  made 
in  an  earlier  chapter.  The  number  of  vehicles 
charged  to  the  wholesale  is  111.  The  number 
in  use  varies,  of  course,  according  to  the  sea- 
son and  the  amount  of  business  being  done. 

IT  can  readily  be  realized  that  to  dispose  of 
such  vast  quantities  of  merchandise,  in  so 
many  and  such  diverse  lines,  a  force  of  sales- 
men that  is  skilful  as  well  as  numerous  is 
essential.  Inquiry  shows  that  in  the  division 
of  the  country  into  selling  territories  and  in 
the  division  and  control  of  salesmen's  work 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  have  worked  out  a  sys- 
tem which  is  well  conceived  and  carefully 
planned  and  which  functions  to  the  advantage 
of  the  firm's  customers  as  well  as  to  that  of 
the  house  itself. 

Several  years  ago,  with  a  view  to  the  elimi- 
nation of  needless  expense  and  unremunera- 
tive  trips,  a  careful  investigation  and  analysis 
was  made  of  the  country-wide  territory  to  be 
served  and  the  trade  possibilities  of  various 
cities  and  towns.  Through  such  analysis 
there  was  devised  a  system  under  which  great 
distribution  can  be  effected  at  minimum  cost, 
to  the  advantage  of  the  firm's  customers,  who 
share  in  the  economies  effected  through  the 
lower  prices  which  the  economy  makes  pos- 
sible. 


The  country  served  by  the  Chicago  house 
is  divided  into  territories,  fifteen  in  all, 
each  under  the  direction  of  a  competent 
head.  Each  territory  has  been  sub-divided 
into  a  number  of  sections  according  to  the 
number  of  towns  to  be  covered,  and  each  of 
these  sections  is  taken  care  of  by  a  gen- 
eral line  salesman,  who  is  permanently  lo- 
cated in  his  section.  These  general  line  sales- 
men work  under  the  immediate  direction  of 
the  division  manager  of  the  territory  in  which 
they  are  located. 

In  addition  to  the  general  line  salesmen 
there  are  special  salesmen,  who  four  times  a 
year  or  so  cover  certain  territory  in  behalf  of 
their  departments,  and  combination  salesmen 
who  sell  the  goods  of  two  or  possibly  more  de- 
partments. 

Neither  the  special  salesmen  nor  the  com- 
bination salesmen  make  all  the  towns  covered 
by  the  general  line  salesmen.  The  special 
salesmen  cover  centers  wherein  the  stores  are 
departmentized.  Where  the  merchandise  is 
bought  by  the  merchant  himself  or  by  himself 
and  one  of  his  aids  the  needs  of  such  a  store 
can  be  looked  after  by  the  combination  sales- 
man and  the  general  line  salesman.  The  aim 
of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  wholesale,  has  been 
to  specialize  where  specialization  is  essential 
or  desirable  in  the  interests  of  the  customer, 
but  to  avoid  lost  motion,  and  duplication  of 
effort  as  well  as  conflict  between  the  general 
line  salesman  and  the  special  salesman. 

Moreover,  the  special  and  the  combination 
salesmen  have  to  do  with  advance  orders,  while 
the  general  line  salesmen  take  care  of  the  mer- 
chant's immediate  wants,  or,  in  other  words, 
his  duplicate  and  fill-in  orders,  except  in  towns 
into  which  the  special  and  the  combination 
salesmen  do  not  go. 

The  division  managers  make  periodical 
trips  through  their  territory,  maintaining 
contact  with  the  customers  as  well  as  counsel- 
ing and  directing  the  work  of  the  salesmen. 

Curiosity  will,  no  doubt,  be  felt  as  to  the 
sources  from  which  a  house  of  the  magnitude 
of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  draws  its  recruits  to 
the  ranks  of  its  wholesale  salesmen,  more  es- 


System  and  Methods  in  Wholesale  Branch 


135 


An  Added  Distinction 
to  Men's  Dress 


pecially  in  view  of  the  long  records  of  so 
many  of  the  employees  of  this  firm.  Well, 
many  of  the  salesmen  have  come  up  from 
quite  minor  positions.  The  order  filling  de- 
partments aiford  observing  and  ambitious 
young  men  exceptionally  good  opportunities 
for  becoming 
well  informed 
both  with  re- 
gard to  the  mer- 
chandise and  as 
to  the  custom- 
ers.  These 
young  men  learn 
of  the  kinds  of 
goods  this  or 
that  merchant 
or  concern  is  in 
the  habit  of  buy- 
ing. Many  suc- 
cessful sales- 
men,  especially 
among  the  gen- 
eral line  men, 
have  come  orig- 
inally from  re- 
tail  stores. 
These  were 
young  men  who 
had  through 
some  years  of 
experience  be- 
hind the  counter 
become  familiar 
with  all  lines  of 
merchandise. 

Good  oppor- 
tunities for  ad- 
vancement also  are  offered  to  the  house  assist- 
ants of  the  division  managers.  They  spend 
some  time  each  day  visiting  departments, 
studying  the  merchandise.  Altogether,  the 
selling  force  to-day  is  about  equally  divided 
between  men  who  have  come  in  from  the  out- 
side and  those  who  have  been  developed  in  the 
house. 

It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  do  not  seek  the  services  of  men 


who  are  connected  with  other  concerns.  The 
young  men  with  whom  they  are  willing  to  talk 
in  connection  with  a  position  are  those  who 
are  desirous  of  connecting  themselves  with 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  through  a  strong  belief 
in  the  opportunities  such  a  connection  will 

afford.  And  that 


An  example  of  the  advertising  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
wholesale. 


the  opportuni- 
ties to  men  of 
ability  and  en- 
ergy are  great 
the  large  in- 
comes earned  by 
many  men  in 
the  organization 
to-day  as  well 
as  those  who 
have  been  able 
to  retire  with  a 
competency 
most  emphati- 
cally attest. 

Between 
their  trips  the 
special  salesmen 
spend  their  time 
in  the  house. 
The  general  line 
salesmen  visit 
Chicago  at  least 
twice  a  year  to 
revise  their 
samples  and 
hear  talks 
from  merchan- 
dise men  and  de- 
partment heads 
with  a  view  to 
their  being  kept  up  to  date  at  all  times.  At 
such  times  there  is  a  formal  dinner  and  the 
men  are  addressed  by  some  speaker  of  local  or 
national  prominence  on  subjects  vital  to  the 
progress  of  the  business. 


MARSHALL     FIELD     &" 
COMPANY-    CHICAGO  , 


w 


furnishing  their 
customers  with  the  means  for  pushing 
the  sale  of  the  goods  are  adopted  by  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.,  wholesale. 


136 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


An  example  of  more  elaborate  provision 
for  aiding  retailers  in  selling  is  a  fixture,  sup- 
plied with  merchandise  bought  from  the  firm, 
which  enables  a  store  to  set  up  a  complete 
gift  shop.  This  fixture  is  in  dark  oak.  It  is 
about  6  ft.  high  and  has  four  shelves  on  the 
outside  as  well  as  on  the  inside. 

It  is  made  in  units,  so  that  the  gift  shop 
can  be  large  or  small,  as  desired.  For  ex- 
ample, a  square  room  with  entrance  and  exit 
can  be  formed,  sufficiently  spacious  to  accom- 
modate a  round  table  in  the  center.  The  com- 
pleteness of  the  outfit  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  it  is  wired  for  the  displaying  of  boudoir 
lamps. 

A  sign  is  provided,  to  be  placed  at  the  en- 
trance. Advertising  matter,  bearing  the  cus- 
tomer's name,  is  supplied,  together  with  a 
high-class  illustrated  booklet  on  gift  merchan- 
dise, which  is  issued  every  second  month. 

This  gift  shop  has  been  availed  of  not  only 
by  department  stores  but  also  by  furniture 
stores. 

In  connection  with  the  sale  of  books  there 
is  a  fixture  which  was  designed  by  the  head 
of  that  department  and  certain  others.  This 
is  in  the  form  of  a  bookcase.  It  is  sold  at  cost 
to  the  retailer  who  buys  an  assortment  of 
books. 

The  advertising  department  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.,  wholesale,  is  more  than  an  ad- 
vertising bureau.  Its  aim  is  to  be  of  real 
service  to  the  customers  of  the  house  as  well 
as  to  keep  them  informed  in  regard  to  its 
merchandise. 

It  supplies  merchants  with  advertising 
ideas,  plans,  layouts,  copy  and  other  sugges- 
tions, thus  not  only  giving  the  idea  but  show- 
ing in  every  detail  how  it  can  be  carried  out. 
And,  as  these  outlines  are  distributed  month- 
ly, they  come  to  the  merchant  just  at  the  right 
time  for  him  to  use  them  in  getting  out  pub- 
licity that  is  appropriate  for  the  period  or 
season. 

Under  the  title  of  "Field's  Quality  News" 
the  firm  publishes  monthly  a  magazine  and 
catalog  or  price  list,  in  which  are  printed 
instructive  and   stimulating  articles  for  the 


merchant's  reading.  In  these  articles  the 
merchant  is  counseled  to  adopt  the  very  same 
methods  that  have  proved  so  successful  with 
the  firm  itself.  In  one  way  or  another  he  is 
informed  as  to  the  advantages  inherent  in 
selling  merchandise  not  on  a  basis  of  price  but 
on  that  of  value;  he  is  urged  to  try  to  sell  as 
fine  an  article  in  each  price  classification  as 
possible  rather  than  being  content  to  push  the 
cheapest  article. 

This  same  method  underlies  the  advertis- 
ing plans,  copy  and  cuts  supplied  to  the  mer- 
chant. In  every  editorial  furnished  by  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  a  suggestion  for  the  mer- 
chant to  run  the  word  "quality"  appears  and 
emphasis  is  placed  on  that  feature  of  his  mer- 
chandise. This  in  itself  tends  to  educate  re- 
tailers to  handle  merchandise  that  can  be  re- 
lied on  and  depended  on  in  every  way.  It  is 
all  the  more  educative  and  impressive  because 
the  merchant  knows  by  his  contact  with  the 
house  that  insistence  on  quality  has  always 
been  one  of  the  most  potent  factors  in  the  de- 
velopment of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  own  great 
business. 

Stress  is  also  laid  on  the  importance  of  the 
merchant  advertising  the  character  of  his 
business.  He  is  shown  how  to  advertise  his 
store  in  an  institutional  way.  Not  only  news- 
paper advertising  but  booklet  publicity  for 
stores  also  receives  attention.  So  it  is  not 
surprising  to  find  that  the  force  in  this  ad- 
vertising bureau  of  the  wholesale  runs  all  the 
way  from  fifteen  to  twenty  in  number,  accord- 
ing to  the  period  of  the  year. 

In  a  measure  the  advertising  bureau  of  the 
wholesale  links  up  with  that  of  the  retail.  In 
other  words,  some  of  the  best  ideas  put  into 
effect  by  the  retail  are  passed  on  to  the  mer- 
chant through  the  wholesale.  In  pursuing 
this  course  the  firm  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
may  be  actuated  by  a  purpose  and  aim  that 
are  of  the  broadest  and  most  patriotic  char- 
acter. In  a  previous  chapter  dealing  with  the 
policies  and  work  of  the  retail  store's  adver- 
tising bureau  attention  was  directed  to  a 
series  of  advertisements  published  by  Mar- 
shall  Field  &   Co.  just  after  the   armistice. 


System  and  Methods  in  Wholesale  Branch 


137 


These  ads  were  reproduced  by  the  wholesale, 
in  lessened  size,  reprinted  in  a  9  by  12  in. 
booklet  and  mailed  to  merchants,  with  the  sug- 
gestion that  they  run  the  series  in  their  local 
newspapers.  To  help  them  do  this  the  price 
at  which  mats  or  electros  were  offered  by  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  at  cost  of  making  and  the 
price  was  stated  under  each  reproduction. 

The  purpose  of  this  was  to  obtain  wide 
publicity  for  a  ringing  call  to  the  people  of 
this  country  not  to  slack  off  because  the  war 
had  come  to  an  end,  but  to  keep  up  the  good 
work  during  the  coming  reconstruction  period. 


Another  booklet  of  similar  size  to  the 
one  just  mentioned  contains  reproductions,  in 
actual  size,  and  in  the  type  form  as  printed,  of 
editorials  on  broad  subjects  taken  from  the 
firm's  retail  advertising.  This  booklet  is  en- 
titled "Character  Builders."  Its  inspirational 
and  educative  purpose  is  clearly  indicated  in 
those  two  impressive  words. 

Reference  to  other  printed  matter  ad- 
dressed to  the  trade  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
will  be  made  in  a  later  chapter  dealing  with 
the  broad  forms  of  public  service  carried  on 
by  the  firm  during  many  years. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
EFFECTIVE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  ON  MANY  OCCASIONS 


THE  methods  by  which  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  were  able  to  develop  so  many  able 
and  successful  men  have  been  fully  maintained 
by  the  present  management.  Giving  men  re- 
sponsibility and  requiring  them  to  work  out 
their  own  problems  is  still  the  custom 
alike  in  the  wholesale  and  in  the  retail,  and 
this  explains  in  a  large  measure  the  progress 
which  the  house  is  making  to-day. 

Quite  recently  one  of 
the  department  heads,  in 
referring  in  an  enthusi- 
astic way  to  this  method 
and  its  results,  said: 

"I  once  asked  Mr. 
Shedd  for  some  advice  in 
connection  with  the  man- 
agement of  my  depart- 
ment.   He  replied : 

'"My  dear  fellow,  I 
put  you  in  charge  of  the 
department.  You  are 
the  man  to  run  it  and  to 
solve  its  problems.' " 

It  was  not  that  Mr. 
Shedd  was  at  all  brusque 
or  unsympathetic  in  making  this  response. 
He  evidently  desired  to  emphasize  the  de- 
gree in  which  department  heads  and  others 
are  thrown  on  their  own  resources  and  ex- 
pected to  exercise  self-reliance  as  well  as 
originality. 

One  of  the  merchandise  men,  also  in  the 
wholesale,  in  a  conversation  along  the  same 
lines  laid  stress  on  the  fact  that  the  firm,  as 
he  put  it,  "is  constantly  making  salesmen  into 
merchants." 

Furthermore,  it  should  be  noticed  that 
when  a  vacancy  occurs  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
do  not  go  outside  of  their  own  organization  in 
search  of  an  experienced  man.  For  one  rea- 
son, the  Field  point  of  view  is  regarded  as  an 
essential  for  everyone  who  holds  a  position  of 


The    fifty-year    diamond 
Iwenty-five-year  button. 


responsibility.  Each  must  understand  the 
"soul  of  the  institution,"  and  this  cannot  be 
gained  on  the  outside  of  the  organization.  / 
Reference  to  this  same  policy  was  made  in 
the  course  of  a  conversation  had  by  the  editor 
of  the  Economist  with  other  members  of  the 
organization,  in  the  retail  as  well  as  in  the 
wholesale. 

The  results  are  apparent.  The  knowledge 
that  promotion  is  the 
reward  for  willing  and 
intelligent  work  is  a 
wonderful  incentive  to 
effective  activity.  It 
also  leads  the  majority 
of  employees  to  remain 
with  a  concern  where 
such  opportunities  are 
presented  to  them.  It  is 
due  to  the  consistent  ad- 
herence to  this  policy, 
among  others,  that  the 
Field  organization  num- 
bers among  its  members 
so  unusually  large  a  per- 
centage of  men  and 
women  who  have  been  with  the  house  for  the 
greater  part  of  their  lives.  To  it  also  is  at- 
tributable the  great  number  of  present  de- 
partment heads,  merchandise  men  and  men  in 
even  higher  places  who  started  in  the  business 
in  a  humble  capacity. 

Long  years  ago  the  management  realized 
that  an  additional  incentive  would  be  pre- 
sented if  there  were  adopted  a  more  general 
mode  of  recognizing  length  of  service.  Ac- 
cordingly, after  five  years  of  service  and  at 
intervals  of  five  years  thereafter  up  to  45 
years  there  is  presented  to  each  employee  a 
pin,  to  be  worn  on  the  coat  lapel  or  on  the 
dress.  This  pin  bears  a  suitable  inscription. 
To  each  employee  who  has  been  with  the 
concern  fifty  years  there   is   given  what  is 


medal    and    the 


138 


Effective  Public  Service  on  Many  Occasions 


139 


known  as  the  diamond  medal.  This  is  in 
gold,  set  with  two  %  carat  brilliants.  It  is 
significant  of  the  degree  in  which  Marshall 
Field  consider  the  services  of  their  co-workers 
that  the  number  of  people  who  had  received 
the  diamond  medal  prior  to  August  7,  1922, 
was  forty-one,  of  whom  seven  had  passed  away. 
On  that  day,  as  will  be  told  in  a  later  chapter. 
President  Shedd  was  invested  with  this  badge 
of  half  a  century's  service,  making  the  number 
of  medal  wearers  still  living  thirty-five. 

Furthermore,  there  is  sent  out  from  the 
superintendent's  office,  in  the  retail  store,  to 
each  employee  of  long  standing  in  every 
branch  of  the  business,  and  no  matter  what 
his  position,  on  the  anniversary  of  entering 
the  concern's  employ,  a  letter  of  congratula- 
tion, the  wording  of  which  is  changed  each 
year. 

Here  is  the  letter  used  for  this  purpose 
during  1921 : 

Dear  Mr. : 


Once  upon  a  time  Marshall  Field  &  Company 
were  looking  for  just  the  right  person  to  occupy  a 
certain  position.  You  appeared  upon  the  scene 
and  became  a  part  of  this  great  organization.  That 
was  twenty-five  years  ago  to-day.  Many  changes 
have  taken  place  since  then — the  buildings  are  not 
as  they  were  and  many  of  the  good  friends  of  the 
days  gone  by  have  severed  their  relations  with  us ; 
but  the  ideals  for  which  the  house  stood  then  and 
for  which  we,  as  individuals,  have  stood,  are  still 
with  us — an  inspiration  to  the  business  world.  I 
congratulate  you  on  the  part  you  have  played  in 
maintaining  these  high  standards,  and  I  hope  that 
the  coming  year  may  be  one  of  the  best  of  your 
life. 

While  the  letter  above  quoted  goes  out,  as 
said,  from  the  superintendent's  office,  each 
member  of  the  management  takes  an  active 
interest  in  these  anniversaries.  On  one  occa- 
sion President  Shedd  sent  to  a  lady  at  the 
head  of  one  of  the  departments  forty-two 
American  Beauty  Roses,  one  for  each  year  of 
her  service  with  the  house. 

Many  years  ago  the  firm  adopted  a  bonus 
plan  or  percentage  division  of  profits.  Early 
in  1911  there  was  put  in  force  a  system  under 
which  a  considerable  number  of  the  depart- 
ment heads  and  others  holding  managing  posi- 
tions and  who  had  been  connected  with  the 


business  for  many  years  had  an  opportunity 
to  purchase  stock  in  the  organization.  Those 
not  in  a  position  to  purchase  the  stock  out- 
right were  given  time  in  which  to  pay  for 
the  shares  allotted  to  them.  It  was  further 
announced  that  as  time  went  on  other  em- 
ployees who  had  displayed  marked  ability 
would  have  a  similar  opportunity  offered  to 
them. 

In  November,  1917,  the  members  of  the 
firm  took  over  all  the  common  stock  from  the 
trustees  of  the  Marshall  Field  Estate,  thus 
acquiring  complete  control  of  the  business. 
Thus  the  holdings  of  the  trustees  are  now 
confined  to  the  preferred  stock  bearing  a  fixed 
return. 

Under  this  plan  the  par  value  of  the  shares 
of  stock  were  reduced  from  $100  a  share  to 
$10,  the  number  of  shares  being  increased 
from  60,000  to  600,000  and  the  capital  stock 
of  the  corporation  thus  remaining  unchanged. 
Under  the  new  arrangement  one-half  of  the 
shares  of  the  stock  are  preferred  and  one-half 
common.  All  of  the  preferred  stock  was 
taken  by  the  Estate  of  Marshall  Field,  by  John 
G.  Shedd  and  by  Stanley  Field. 

However,  a  considerable  share  of  the  pre- 
ferred stock  held  by  the  trustees  of  the  Field 
Estate  was  set  aside  by  them  in  order  to 
give  employees  who  were  not  owners  of  com- 
mon stock  an  opportunity  to  invest  in  the 
firm's  securities.  At  that  time  it  was  an- 
nounced that  in  addition  to  the  regular  divi- 
dends on  the  preferred  stock  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  would  pay  $2  per  share  per  annum  on 
the  preferred  stock  held  by  the  employees  un- 
der the  plan,  thus  giving  them  a  return  of 
9  per  cent  on  their  investment. 

Under  the  plan,  moreover,  the  common 
stock  of  the  company  came  into  the  ownership 
only  of  persons  actively  engaged  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  business. 

With  such  incentives  it  is  no  wonder  that 
the  employees  everywhere  throughout  the 
wholesale  and  retail  buildings — in  merchan- 
dise departments,  in  offices,  in  the  delivery  de- 
partment, in  packing  rooms,  etc.,  keep  con- 
stantly  before   them,    and   before  customers 


140 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


also  the  following  expression  of  the  Marshall 
Field  spirit: 

THE  MARSHALL  FIELD  &  CO.  IDEA 

To  do  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time,  in  the 
right  way;  to  do  some  things  better  than  they  were 
ever  done  before;  to  eliminate  errors;  to  know  both 
sides  of  the  question;  to  be  courteous;  to  be  an  ex- 
ample; to  work  for  the  love  of  work;  to  anticipate 
requirements;  to  develop  resources;  to  recognize 
no  impediments;  to  master  circumstances;  to  act 
from  reason  rather  than  rule;  to  be  satisfied  with 
nothing   short    of   perfection. 

THE  firm  indeed  has  a  record  for  public 
service  which  goes  back  many  years. 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  have  never  been 
found  wanting  in  an  emergency  in  which  they 
could  render  aid  to  the  community. 

In  December,  1903,  when  the  Iroquois 
Theater  burned,  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  sup- 
plied blankets  in  which  to  wrap  the  hundreds 
of  dead,  and  aided  the  living  by  furnishing 
with  clothes  the  many  whose  garments  had 
literally  been  torn  from  their  backs  in  the 
struggle  to  escape  from  the  burning  audi- 
torium. 

The  theater  was  situated  on  Randolph 
Street  between  State  and  Dearborn,  only  a 
stone's  throw  from  the  retail  store  of  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  The  fire  occurred  about 
three  in  the  afternoon,  during  a  matinee  per- 
formance, on  a  day  closely  preceding  New 
Year's.  The  cold  on  that  day  was  so  intense 
as  greatly  to  add  to  the  sufferings  of  the  sur- 
vivors. 

Many  of  these  made  their  way  at  once  to 
Field's  for  shelter.  These  sufferers  were 
taken  upstairs  to  the  rest-room,  while  the 
most  serious  cases  were  cared  for  in  the 
store's  hospital. 

As  soon  as  the  survivors  began  to  enter 
the  store  one  of  the  men  on  the  street  floor 
went  to  the  theater,  and  from  what  he  saw 
realized  that  many  hundreds  of  bodies  would 
be  taken  from  the  burned  building.  He  re- 
turned to  the  store  and  reported  to  the  man- 
ager the  need  of  blankets  in  which  to  wrap 
the  bodies.  These  were  already  being  re- 
moved and,  as  he  says,  "were  being  stacked 


like  cordwood  on  the  sidewalk."  By  order  of 
the  manager  blankets  in  quantities  were  des- 
patched from  the  store  by  truck,  and  the 
wholesale  branch  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  also 
was  promptly  called  on  to  increase  the  supply. 
Thus  respect  was  paid  to  the  dead  and  the 
ghastliness  inseparable  from  the  removal  of 
the  bodies  was  minimized. 

In  the  store  the  caring  for  the  survivors 
was  carried  on  amid  hysterical  outbursts  of 
joy  as  well  as  of  grief  and  terror,  for  com- 
munication was  effected  with  relatives  and 
friends  of  many  of  those  who  had  escaped  and 
these  rushed  to  the  store  to  greet  those  who 
they  feared  had  been  among  the  hundreds  of 
victims. 

When  the  great  fire  devastated  San  Fran- 
cisco in  the  spring  of  1906,  shortly  after 
Marshall  Field's  death,  the  first  message 
promising  substantial  help  was  wired  from 
Chicago,  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of 
the  Association  of  Commerce  telegraphing 
that  $100,000  would  be  contributed  for  sup- 
plies of  food  and  clothing.  This  large  sum  of 
money  was  expended  in  Chicago.  The  great- 
est need  was  for  food  and  clothing  not  money, 
so  that  the  large  sum  subscribed  in  Chicago, 
nearly  a  million,  was  laid  out  in  supplies 
which  were  sent  out  by  express  to  the  devas- 
tated territory. 

Mr.  Stanley  Field  acted  as  supervisor  of 
the  expenditures  and  saw  to  the  shipping  of 
the  various  kinds  of  supplies,  devoting  practi- 
cally all  of  his  time  to  this  work  during  a 
period  of  several  weeks.  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  were  prominent  in  furnishing  women's 
underwear  as  well  as  blankets,  for  the  reason 
that  the  firm  had  large  stocks  of  these  badly 
needed  articles. 

During  the  flood  which  caused  such  havoc 
in  Dayton  and  other  cities  in  the  great  Ohio 
River  Valley  in  March,  1913,  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  were  requested  to  loan  a  man  to  super- 
vise the  purchase  and  distribution  of  neces- 
saries with  a  view  to  relieving  want  and  suf-  / 
fering.  W.  F.  Hypes,  general  sales  manager/ 
of  the  firm,  immediately  undertook  the  work. 
The  Red  Cross  was  not  eauipped  at  that  time. 


Effective  Public  Service  on  Many  Occasions 


141 


/ 


as  it  has  been  since,  to  handle  a  calamity  of 
such  magnitude.  Mr.  Hypes  commandeered 
the  services  of  all  the  workers  in  charitable 
and  philanthropic  fields  in  Chicago  and  sent 
them  into  the  flooded  district  with  instruc- 
tions to  send  orders  to  him  by  telegraph  and 
telephone  for  the  items  most  needed. 

The  flood  occurred  on  a  Friday,  and  on 
Saturday  morning  all  available  stocks  of 
typhoid  antitoxin  in  the  Central  West  had 
been  shipped  to  the  nearest  possible  point 
where  it  could  be  utilized.  On  the  Monday 
morning  telegrams  asking  for  supplies  were 
received  from  the  representatives  above  men- 
tioned, and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day 
a  solid  train  of  seventeen  cars  left  Chicago 
for  Columbus,  Ohio,  from  which  point  distri- 
bution was  to  be  made.  Men  had  not  realized 
that  the  supplies  could  be  gotten  together  and 
forwarded  with  such  speed. 

Again  on  July  24,  1915,  when  a  large  ex- 
cursion steamboat,  the  Eastland,  foundered  at 
its  dock,  with  hundreds  of  casualties,  the  city 
Health  Department  found  that  it  lacked 
stretchers  and  other  means  for  caring  for  the 
injured  and  removing  the  dead.  While  the  of- 
ficials were  at  their  wits'  end  as  to  whom  to 
call  on  for  these  essentials  the  trucks  of  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  began  backing  up  to  the 
scene  of  the  accident,  these  trucks  bearing 
hundreds  of  stretchers  and  bale  after  bale  of 
blankets. 

A  department  manager  at  Field's,  in  the 
retail  store,  on  learning  of  the  disaster,  real- 
ized that  stretchers  would  be  needed.  There 
were  no  stretchers  in  the  store,  but  he  im- 
mediately informed  one  of  his  assistants 
where  a  quantity  of  12-oz.  duck  would  be 
found  and  instructed  him  to  have  a  dozen 
bolts  of  it  taken  to  the  basement  at  once.  He 
directed  another  of  his  men  to  go  to  the  drap- 
eries department  and  have  sent  to  the  base- 
ment as  many  curtain  poles  as  possible. 

"Get  several  hundred  poles  down  there," 
he  said,  "and  I  will  be  waiting  there  for  you." 

When  the  men  arrived  with  the  curtain 
poles  not  only  was  the  department  head  there, 
but   he   had   with   him   a    number   of   young 


men   armed  with  hammers  and  heavy  tacks. 

The  duck  was  cut  into  the  right  lengths 
and  tacked  onto  the  poles.  Thus  in  the  brief- 
est time  hundreds  of  stretchers  were  impro- 
vised. Meantime,  trucks  had  been  ordered  to 
the  store  and  in  them  were  placed  not  only 
the  improvised  stretchers,  but  over  a  thou- 
sand pairs  of  blankets. 

The  ability  to  take  responsibility  so  char- 
acteristic of  Marshall  Field  employees  occupy- 
ing a  managerial  position  was  evinced  in 
this  incident  as  well  as  the  desire  of  the  firm 
to  be  of  service.  This  department  manager, 
without  consulting  with  any  one  of  his  su- 
periors, took  the  chance  of  using  and  probably 
destroying  many  dollars'  worth  of  the  com- 
pany's property.  Later  on,  the  cost  of  the 
canvas,  curtain  poles  and  blankets  was  recov- 
ered, but  the  recovery  was  something  which 
the  department  manager  could  not  foresee  and 
probably  did  not  have  in  mind  at  the  time  the 
emergency  arose. 

Again,  late  at  night  during  a  severe  bliz- 
zard, when  the  hotels  in  Chicago  were  filled  al- 
most to  their  capacity,  a  number  of  trains 
brought  several  hundred  more  people  into  the 
city.  Only  for  a  few  of  them  could  accommo- 
dations be  obtained.  At  one  hotel,  the  La 
Salle,  over  a  hundred  people  were  standing  in 
line  and  no  accommodations  were  to  be  had. 
As  said,  it  was  late  at  night.  None  of  the 
stores  were  open.  There  was  no  way  by  which 
the  hotels  could  increase  their  store  of  blankets 
and  other  bed-coverings.  In  this  emergency, 
the  manager  of  the  La  Salle  turned  to  Field's. 
He  succeeded  in  getting  the  head  of  the 
blanket  department  in  the  retail  on  the  'phone. 
The  department  head  was  snowed  in  at  his 
home,  thirty  miles  away  from  the  store.  It 
looked  like  a  hopeless  case.  The  department 
head  assured  the  hotel  man,  however,  that  the 
blankets  would  be  gotten  there  somehow. 

The  department  head  got  in  touch  with 
his  assistant  at  the  latter's  home  in  Winnetka, 
as  far  to  the  north  of  Chicago  as  the  mana- 
ger's home  was  to  the  south.  The  telephone 
line  between  the  manager's  home  and  that  of 
his  assistant  was  kept  open  for  over  two  hours 


142 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


and,  between  them,  they  succeeded  in  finding 
truckmen  who  would  attempt  to  reach  the 
store.  The  store  was  reached.  The  night 
watchman  was  duly  instructed  over  the  'phone, 
and  at  1  a.  m.  the  blankets  were  delivered  to 
the  hotel. 

In  lesser  emergencies,  too,  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  proved  that  they  would  go  to  any  lengths 
to  be  of  service. 

During  the  war  the  firm  had  a  branch  re- 
tail store  at  Fort  Sheridan,  in  the  northern 
outskirts  of  the  city.  It  happened  one  day 
that  15,000  small  banners  bearing  a  special 
color  arrangement  were  needed  at  the  camp 
on  short  notice.  At  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
the  commanding  officer  sent  a  messenger  to 
the  Field  branch  store,  asking  if  he  could  get 
the  banners  in  question  by  10  the  following 
morning.  There  were  no  banners  of  the  kind 
in  Chicago,  but  the  man  in  the  branch  store 
said  the  order  would  be  filled.  It  was  filled, 
and  in  the  following  way: 

The  fabric  was  taken  from  the  stockroom, 
cut  up  and  sewed  together  in  one  of  the  work- 
rooms of  the  retail  store.  Sticks  were  sup- 
plied by  taking  them  from  the  rolls  of  oil- 
cloth, both  in  the  wholesale  and  in  the  retail. 
The  banners,  after  being  made,  were  tacked 
onto  these  sticks,  willing  hands  working  all 
night.  At  8  o'clock  the  following  morning 
delivery  began.  By  10  a.  m.  the  entire  quan- 
tity of  banners  had  been  receipted  for  by  the 
officer  in  charge. 

About  the  same  time  there  came  to  the 
store  an  order  for  a  pair  of  general's  stars. 
Colonel  Nicholson  had  been  made  a  Brigadier, 
and  had  been  ordered  to  report  at  once  to 
Washington.  His  fellow  officers  desired  to 
give  him  a  pair  of  silver  stars,  but  there  were 
none  to  be  had. 

Telephone  inquiries  showed  that  there 
were  no  such  decorations  in  Chicago.  The  sit 
nation  was  explained  to  the  manager  of  Field's 
retail.  He  at  once  gave  orders  to  the  jewelry 
department  to  have  the  stars  made  in  its 
workroom.  To  comply  with  instructions,  a 
mold  of  the  right  size  and  shape  had  to  be 
made,  the  silver  poured  and  the  stars  cut  and 


polished  all  within  a  few  hours.    The  task  was 
a  difficult  one,  but  it  was  accomplished. 

That  this  spirit  of  helpfulness  is  not  con- 
fined to  the  firm  members  or  management,  but 
spreads  throughout  the  organization  was 
proven  within  a  recent  period.  When  the  ffood 
struck  Pueblo,  Col.,  in  June,  1921,  two  of  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.'s  men  were  the  first  travel- 
ing salesmen  to  reach  the  city.  They  went 
there  not  with  the  immediate  purpose  of  sell- 
ing merchandise  but  with  a  view  of  being  use- 
ful. And  useful  they  were.  Regardless  of  the 
effect  on  their  clothing  and  footwear,  they 
struggled  knee-deep  into  the  mud  which  had 
been  deposited  everywhere  by  the  receding 
waters  and  assisted  the  merchants  and  store- 
keepers in  recovering  such  goods  as  could  be 
disinterred  from  the  accumulated  earth  and 
slime. 

"We  couldn't  tell  whether  we  were  pulling 
out  pieces  of  silk  or  bolts  of  cotton,  so  cov- 
ered with  mud  were  they,"  said  one  of  these 
roadmen  in  reporting  on  his  return  to  Chi- 
cago, "but  we  helped  in  every  way  we  could." 

Some  of  the  efforts  put  forth  by  Marshall  ^ 
Field  &  Co.  in  the  direction  of  helping  to  win 
the  war  have  been  cited  elsewhere,  notably  in 
the  chapter  relating  to  window  display  and 
advertising  methods.  Even  before  this  coun- 
try entered  the  war,  however,  the  firm  utilized 
its  windows  and  other  facilities  for  impress- 
ing the  public  with  the  importance  of  conserv- 
ing food.  Similar  means  were  taken  in  con-  / 
nection  with  the  need  for  men  for  the  United 
States  Navy. 

During  the  war,  in  addition  to  displays  and 
advertising,  there  were  set  apart,  in  the  retail 
store  building,  sections  which  provided  oppor- 
tunities for  meetings  of  war  relief  work  or- 
ganizations and  facilitated  the  raising  of  funds 
for  war  relief  activities. 

Bazaars  were  held  in  the  store  by  such  or- 
ganizations as  the  Association  for  the  Father- 
less Children  of  France  and  the  Swiss-Allies 
Commission.  Entertainments  were  given  for 
the  benefit  of  Belgian  orphans  and  other  war 
sufferers.  Frequently  there  were  entertain- 
ments and  parties  for  men  in  the  Government 


/ 


Effective  Public  Service  on  Many  Occasions 


143 


service,  and  in  some  instances  refreshments 
were  served  free  of  cost  to  the  soldiers  and 
"jackies." 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the 
work  of  the  firm's  vice-president  in  connection 
with  Liberty  Loans  and  Red  Cross.  Needless 
to  say,  his  efforts  were  supplemented  by  the 
use  of  all  facilities  that  could  be  provided  by 
the  stores,  wholesale  as  well  as  retail. 

Marshall  Field  &  Co.  also  aided  in  ths  sell- 
ing of  Liberty  Bonds  by  inviting  famous  per- 
sons to  make  appeals  to  the  crowds  gathered 
in  the  store.  Popular  actors  and  actresses 
took  part  in  these  affairs.  On  one  occasion 
Leo  Ditrichstein  took  subscriptions  at  a  booth 
on  the  main  floor,  and  during  the  Third  Lib- 
erty Loan  campaign  Mary  Pickford  sold  bonds 
in  the  Men's  Grill. 

With  the  aid  of  the  Women's  Committee 
of  the  Liberty  Loan  campaign  the  firm  was 
enabled  to  announce  that  through  the  retail 
store  there  was  subscribed  by  the  public  a 
total  of  $1,509,400. 

Work  of  this  kind  on  the  part  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  was,  of  course,  not  exceptional; 
it  was  general  among  the  dry  goods  and  de- 
partment store  trade  of  the  country.  Yet  the 
firm  is  none  the  less  entitled  to  credit  for  un- 
usual efforts  in  these  various  patriotic  direc- 
tions. 

It  should  be  noted,  too,  that  of  the  em- 
ployees of  the  concern  no  less  than  1789  en- 
tered the  service  of  the  United  States  during 
the  war,  and  of  these  27  made  the  supreme 
sacrifice. 

A  memorial  service  in  honor  of  those  fel- 
low workers  who  had  given  their  lives  for 
their  country  was  held  by  the  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  employees  on  Sunday,  Dec.  8,  1918. 

This  was  held  in  the  Auditorium,  in  place 
of  the  regular  Central  Church  Sunday  morn- 
ing service.  In  addition  to  the  church  organ- 
ist and  three  soloists,  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
Choral  Society  participated  and  musical  selec- 
tions were  rendered  by  the  First  Regiment 
Band.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  Frank 
W.  Gunsaulus,  the  noted  minister  of  this  con- 
gregation and  president  of  Armour  Institute. 


Inasmuch  as  the  seating  capacity  of  the  au- 
ditorium did  not  exceed  4500,  notice  was  issued 
that  preference  would  be  given  to  employees 
according  to  their  length  of  service  with  the 
firm.  The  audience  was  strictly  confined  to 
employees.  Not  even  wives  of  employees  were 
admitted,  and  though,  as  said,  the  seating  ca- 
pacity was  4500,  it  was  found  that  for  none 
of  those  who  had  joined  the  organization  sub- 
sequent to  1913  was  there  a  seat  available — a 
striking  proof  of  the  length  of  service  which 
is  a  characteristic  of  so  many  of  the  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  employees. 

This  memorial  service  was  held  entirely  at 
the  expense  of  the  firm,  and  the  outlay  in- 
volved was  no  light  one  by  any  means.  It 
amounted  to  somewhere  between  $6,000  and 
$7,000. 

In  line  with  its  public  activities  the  firm 
has  consistently  evinced  a  keen  interest  in  the 
development  of  its  home  city.  Recently,  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  got  out  a  handsomely  bound 
book  of  50  pages,  18  in.  wide  by  12  in.  high, 
delineating  the  development  of  Chicago,  illus- 
trating many  of  its  institutions,  and  further- 
more making  clear,  by  art  work  and  text,  the 
plans  for  the  further  improvement  of  the  city 
that  is  already  a  great  metropolis  and  supreme 
in  many  of  its  industries  and  mercantile  af- 
fairs. 

The  interest  which  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
take  in  the  improvement  of  their  city  is  clearly 
exemplified  in  this  book,  which  costly  as  it  is 
has  been  distributed  among  thousands  of  the 
concern's  customers,  despite  the  fact  that  it 
says  but  little  in  regard  to  the  firm  of  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  or  its  business. 

Among  the  improvements  to  which  the 
firm  has  given  its  support  are:  The  modern- 
ization of  South  Water  Street,  which  forms 
the  northern  boundary  of  Chicago's  central 
business  district;  the  widening  or  extending 
of  several  other  thoroughfares;  the  rehabili- 
tation of  the  terminal  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad ;  the  reclamation  of  a  part  of  the  lake 
front,  so  as  to  complete  Grant  Park,  and  the 
erection  of  the  new  Union  Station  and  of  the 
new  post  office. 


144 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


To  the  Field  Museum,  which,  as  already 
stated,  was  endowed  with  $1,000,000  by  Mar- 
shall Field  and  which  under  his  will  received 
a  further  sum  of  $8,000,000,  has  been  given 
the  support  of  the  firm.  In  particular,  the 
Museum  now  includes  an  auditorium,  seating 
1000,  presented  to  the  institution  by  Mr.  Simp- 
son as  a  gift  of  appreciation  to  the  memory 
of  Marshall  Field.  This  auditorium  is  con- 
sidered an  architectural  gem.  Equipped  with 
a  stage,  it  is  used  not  only  for  lectures  and 
for  the  holding  of  meetings  of  scientific  or- 
ganizations, but  also  for  music  recitals  and 
dramatic  performances. 

Taking  so  high  a  viewpoint  as  it  does  in 
regard  to  its  own  responsibilities,  and  recog- 
nizing so  intensely  and  with  such  practical  re- 
sults its  own  opportunities  for  service,  it  is 
no  wonder  that  the  firm  of  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  has  reached  out  and  endeavored  to  bring 
about  a  more  general  understanding  and  ap- 
preciation of  what  a  merchant  ought  to  do 
and  of  what  he  can  do  in  the  way  of  con- 
structive citizenship. 

In  1920,  under  the  title  of  "The  Merchant 
and  the  New  National  Spirit,"  the  firm  pub- 
lished a  handsome  book  "as  a  tribute,"  to 
quote  the  foreword,  "to  the  merchants  of  the 
country  for  their  aid  in  a  period  of  national 
crisis;  and  to  record  the  new  and  better  con- 


ception of  the  merchant's  responsibility  and 
his  influence  in  community  and  national  life." 

This  book  tells  of  the  reaction  of  retail 
merchants  throughout  the  country  to  the  war, 
and  emphasizes  the  importance  of  maintain- 
ing the  new  attitude  toward  his  community 
and  the  nation  with  which  the  average  mer- 
chant had  become  imbued.  "Good  citizen- 
ship," Marshall  Field  &  Co.  evidently  are 
convinced,  "is  the  companion  trait  of  good 
merchandising."  They  regard  the  merchant 
as  "a.  permanent  constructive  influence  whose 
interests  are  those  of  his  community  and  who 
is  deeply  rooted  in  the  local  soil."  They  be- 
lieve, further,  that  in  the  degree  that  he 
accepts  his  basic  responsibility  to  his  com- 
munity as  a  merchant,  viz.,  to  furnish  mer- 
chandise of  the  highest  character,  in  that 
same  degree  will  he  inevitably  accept  the  fur- 
ther responsibility  and  the  honor  of  being 
more  to  his  community  than  a  seller  of  goods, 
— of  being,  indeed,  its  natural  leader. 

The  well-conceived  effort  of  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  to  further  the  acceptance  of  this  view 
in  every  section  of  this  country  constitutes 
in  itself  a  public  service.  For  it  is  clear  that 
the  adoption  of  the  policy  outlined  must  re- 
dound to  the  advantage  of  the  community  and 
of  the  nation  as  well  as  to  that  of  the  mer- 
chant himself. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
THE  NEW  YORK  OFFICE  AND  ITS  MANIFOLD  OPERATIONS 


THE  desirability  of  keeping  in  the  closest 
possible  touch  with  the  primary  mark- 
ets was  recognized  in  a  practical  way  by 
/Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  soon  after  the  formation 
of  the  firm.     In  the  year  1868  or  so  a  New 
\York  office  was  established.     At  first,  it  was 


tirety.    The  New  York  office  remained  at  104 
Worth  Street  until  1917. 

Up  to  1902  the  functions  of  the  New  York 
office  had  been  confined  to  the  purchase  of 
merchandise  and  observing  and  reporting  to 
headquarters    the   conditions    in    the   market. 


Draperies  section — main  floor   of  New    York    office. 


located  at  25  White  Street.  Three  years  later 
it  was  removed  to  104  Worth  Street — in  the 
heart  of  New  York's  older  wholesale  dry  goods 
district. 

During  the  earlier  years  of  the  New  York 
office's  location  on  Worth  Street  the  firm  occu- 
pied the  second  and  third  floors.  Later  on, 
the  building  was  purchased  by  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  and  was  thereafter  taken  over  in  its  en- 


There  had  been  some  selling  at  wholesale  of 
one  line  of  merchandise,  viz.,  gloves,  through 
the  New  York  office  ever  since  1881  or  so. 
Still,  as  said,  the  New  York  office  had  been 
maintained  chiefly  to  perform  the  func- 
tions of  resident  buyer  for  the  Chicago 
firm. 

In  1902,  however,  a  sales  department  in 
New  York  was  established  as  a  definite  or- 


145 


146 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


ganization.  This  was  located  at  87  Fifth 
Avenue.  So  rapid  was  the  growth  of  this 
branch  of  the  business  that  a  substantial  en- 
largement became  necessary.  This  was  ef- 
fected in  1907. 

Ten  years  later,  or  in  1917,  the  New  York 
buying  and  selling  facilities  of  the  firm  were 
consolidated  and  both  offices  were  removed  to 
the  present  location  at  Broadway  and  Twenty- 
fourth  Street,  where  they  occupy  the  street 
floor  and  the  second  and  third  floors  of  about 
one-half  of  the  building,  which  extends  along 
the  entire  block,  from  Twenty-fourth  to  Twen- 
ty-fifth Street,  together  with  the  building's 
entire  basement.  This  gives  the  New  York 
oflSce  an  aggregate  floor  space  of  85,000  square 
feet. 

The  street  floor  and  the  floor  immediately 
above  are  used  for  selling  purposes  and  the 
third  floor  for  buying  purposes  and  as  offices, 
where  the  buyers  from  the  wholesale  and  re- 
tail stores  in  Chicago  make  their  headquar- 
ters while  in  the  New  York  market.  The 
basement  is  used  for  receiving  and  shipping 
and  for  stock  purposes. 

The  goods  sold  are  those  manufactured  or 
converted  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  the  various 
kinds  of  which  have  been  enumerated  in  pre- 
vious chapters.  All  of  the  Atlantic  coast  from 
Hudson  Bay  to  the  Gulf  comprises  the  selling 
territory  of  the  New  York  branch. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  and  one  that  again 
bears  witness  to  the  long  terms  of  service 
which  are  the  rule  in  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
organization  that  during  the  fifty-three  years 
of  the  existence  of  the  New  York  branch  only 
three  men  have  directed  its  activities.  The 
first,  Lorenzo  G.  Woodhouse,  a  member  of 
the  firm,  has  been  previously  mentioned 
in  the  course  of  this  life  story  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  He  was  succeeded  in  1890  by  R. 
B.  MacPherson,  who,  in  turn,  was  followed  by 
H.  C.  Smith  in  1907. 

It  is  proof  of  the  continual  grow^th  of  the 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  business  that  whereas 
when  the  New  York  office  was  opened  two  men 
sufficed  to  carry  on  its  operations  and  in  1879 
the  staff  numbered  only  thirteen,  to-day  more 


than  325  are  required  to  carry  on  its  activi- 
ties. 

The  New  York  office,  so-called,  is,  in  truth, 
a  great  wholesale  house  as  well  as  a  fully 
equipped  resident  buying  organization  for 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  retail  and  wholesale 
businesses.  It  must,  therefore,  be  considered 
under  each  of  these  aspects. 

AS  a  wholesale  concern  this  office  does  an 
annual  business  exceeding  that  of  many 
jobbing  houses  in  New  York  City  and  other 
centers.  The  staff  of  salesmen  at  this  writing 
numbers  63  and  the  packages  shipped  out  as  a 
result  of  their  work  aggregated  30,000  in  the 
first  six  months  of  1921,  with  a  total  weight 
of  1,300,000  lbs.  These  large  figures  result, 
in  a  measure,  from  the  fact  that  on  all  goods 
originating  in  the  Eastern  territory  above 
mentioned  orders  are  sent  to  the  New  York 
office.  The  invoices  for  such  transactions, 
however,  go  to  Chicago,  where  they  are 
checked.  Payment  also  is  made  to  the  Chi- 
cago headquarters. 

A  further  idea  of  the  extent  of  these 
functions  of  the  New  York  office  is  ob- 
tained by  a  visit  to  the  basement,  where  the 
amount  of  space  devoted  to  reserve  stock  will 
surely  impress  every  beholder.  It  may  also  be 
said  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  have  not  the 
opportunity  to  make  such  a  visit  that  of  the 
total  floor  space  of  85,000  sq.  ft.  the  basement 
space  makes  up  two-thirds. 

In  their  arrangement  and  "equipment  the 
selling  departments  in  the  New  York  office  are 
on  a  par  with  those  in  the  firm's  main  whole- 
sale building  in  Chicago. 

All  of  the  woodwork  is  of  the  highest 
grades  of  mahogany,  and  the  display  cases  are 
of  mahogany  and  plate  glass. 

One-half  of  the  main  floor  is  devoted  to 
draperies,  rugs  and  carpets,  the  other  half  to 
blankets  and  other  products  of  the  firm's 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia  mills,  together 
with  linings.  Both  of  these  sections  are  car- 
peted throughout,  the  floorcovering  being  in  a 
soft  shade  of  tan. 

The  draperies  section  is,  if  anything,  more 


The  New  York  Office  and  Its  Manifold  Operations 


147 


sumptuous  in  its  furnishings  and  its  display 
fittings  than  is  the  corresponding  section  in 
the  wholesale  house  in  Chicago,  this  because 
the  New  York  oiRce  was  equipped  within  a 
later  period.  Goods  are  shown  to  customers 
on  fixtures  similar  to  those  used  in  the  drap- 
eries section  in  Chicago  and  described  in  a 
previous  chapter.     There  are  handsome  elec- 


one  part  of  this  floor  there  have  been  con- 
structed around  the  posts  display  cases  of  ma- 
hogany and  plate  glass.  The  bases  of  these 
fixtures  are  provided  with  sliding  doors,  and 
thus  provide  suitable  receptacles  for  samples 
in  addition  to  those  on  display. 

There  are  also  on  this  second  floor  display 
cases  so  spacious  and  handsome  that  they  fre- 


Blanket  section — main  floor  of  New  York  ofUce. 


trically  lighted  wall  cases,  inside  each  of 
which  is  a  construction  similar  to  the  window 
of  a  dwelling  and  on  this  "window"  are  shown 
drapery,  lace  curtains,  etc.,  as  if  in  actual  use 
in  the  home.  There  are  also  unusually  large 
and  spacious  showcases  in  which  displays  of 
drapery  fabrics  are  constantly  on  view. 

The  blanket  and  lining  section  is  equipped 
with  swinging  racks  for  quickly  showing 
goods  to  customers,  as  well  as  with  showcases, 
tables  and  other  fixtures. 

The  second  floor  also  approximates  in  its 
arrangement  a  high-class  retail  store.  Like 
the  street  floor,  it  is  carpeted  throughout.    In 


quently  elicit  admiring  comment  from  custom- 
ers. 

The  lines  on  the  second  floor  include  hand- 
kerchiefs, silks,  towels,  cotton  damasks,  men's, 
women's  and  children's  knit  underwear,  and 
men's,  women's  and  children's  gloves. 

This  New  York  wholesale  business  of  Mar- 
shall Field  is  not  merely  a  branch  of  the  firm's 
great  business;  it  is  in  many  respects  a  sep- 
arate entity,  having,  as  above  stated,  its  own 
selling  territory,  and  also  functioning  in  its 
own  behalf  in  the  matter  of  credits,  shipping, 
etc. 

In  connection  with  its  work  as  a  resident 


148 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


buying  office  for  the  retail  store  and  the 
main  wholesale  business  of  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  the  New  York  office  is  the  headquarters  of 
the  firm's  buyers  on  their  frequent  periodical 
trips  to  the  Eastern  market.  Purchases  are 
made  by  the  New  York  office  in  the  intervals 
between  these  trips,  in  co-operation  with  the 
merchandise  managers  and  section  heads  in 
Chicago.  To  this  end  the  office  constantly  em- 
ploys a  staff  of  from  twelve  to  fourteen  ex- 
perts in  various  lines  of  merchandise. 

The  assembling,  casing  and  shipping  of 
small  shipments  which  if  shipped  singly  would 
entail  great  unnecessary  expense  is  one  of  the 
important  functions  of  the  New  York  office. 
This  work  is  taken  care  of  by  a  department  in 
the  basement.  Some  3500  large  cases  are  thus 
packed  and  shipped  from  New  York  to  Chi- 
cago in  the  course  of  a  year. 

An  interesting  section  in  the  basement  is 
what  is  known  as  the  label  department.  It  is 
the  duty  of  this  department  to  take  care  of 
the  supplying  of  the  proper  label,  where  neces- 
sary, in  the  case  of  goods  going  through  the 
New  York  office  to  Chicago. 

Because  of  the  great  diversity  of  labels, 
both  printed  and  woven,  required  in  connec- 


tion with  the  numerous  lines  of  merchandise 
handled  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  this  little  de- 
partment fulfills  a  task  that  is  both  onerous 
and  important. 

The  New  York  office  has  other  functions 
the  due  performance  of  which  vitally  affects 
the  success  and  progress  of  the  entire  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  business.  These  are  di- 
rected by  the  traffic  department,  whose  man- 
ager is  widely  recognized  as  one  of  the  ablest 
and  most  experienced  traffic  men  in  this  coun- 
try. To  this  department  are  intrusted  the 
classifying  of  merchandise  shipments  so  that 
each  shipment  shall  pay  no  more  than  the  rate 
to  which  it  is  entitled.  The  department  also 
looks  after  the  routing  of  shipments.  It  di- 
rects the  receiving  and  forwarding  of  mer- 
chandise coming  to  the  firm  from  all  parts  of 
the  world.  Allied  with  the  last  named  duty  is 
the  matter  of  making  arrangements  for  haul- 
ing. The  filing  of  claims  with  transportation 
companies  for  shortage,  damage,  etc.,  is  also 
attended  to  by  the  traffic  department. 

The  New  York  office  also  has  much  to  do 
with  the  movement  of  the  vast  quantities  of 
merchandise  imported  by  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.  in  the  course  of  each  year.     It  keeps  a 


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LiUi  i:,.u  /.,;;,\//.r/'i/nV/  Si'itimis — St\'iiiiJ  lioor  of  A  cTi.'  iurk  ufiu' 


The  New  York  Office  and  Its  Manifold  Operations 


149 


watch  on  transportation  rates  within  foreign 
countries  and  on  the  ocean.  It  looks  out  for 
the  arrival  of  foreign  shipments  and  sees  that 
they  are  duly  forwarded.  Chicago  being  a 
United  States  port  of  entry,  practically  all  of 
the  firm's  goods  of  foreign  origin  are  shipped 
to  that  center  in  bond  and  are  there  examined, 
appraised  and  assessed  for  duty  by  the  cus- 
toms officials  just  as  they  would  be  if  "en- 
tered" at  the  port  of  New  York. 

Marine  insurance  has  the  attention  of  the 
New  York  office  along  with  fire  insurance  for 


Furthermore,  in  order  that  the  New  York 
office  may  be  kept  constantly  informed  as  to 
what  is  going  on  the  traffic  manager  receives 
from  Chicago  a  copy  of  each  letter  sent  by  a 
department  head  in  the  firm's  retail  or  whole- 
sale establishment  there  to  any  one  of  the 
firm's  foreign  offices  or  to  other  destination 
abroad. 

The  New  York  office  decides  as  to  the  rout- 
ing of  incoming  foreign  shipments  arriving  at 
the  Atlantic  or  the  Pacific  seaboard.  This  is 
especially  true  of  such  bulky  but  low-priced 


The  New  York  offices  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  occupy  the  three  low- 
est floors  and  basement  of  one  of  the  city's  most  modern  skyscrapers. 


territory  on  a    line    east    of    Pittsburgh  and 
Buffalo  and  other  matters  of  allied  nature. 

The  New  York  office  is  in  almost  instan- 
taneous touch  with  the  wholesale  branch  in 
Chicago  by  means  of  a  direct  wire  with  an 
operator  in  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  plant  at 
each  end  of  the  line.  Messages  applying  to 
the  retail  branch  are  transmitted  from  the 
wholesale  house  in  Chicago.  Cables  and  wire- 
less messages  to  the  firm's  offices  in  Europe 
and  Asia  are  telegraphed  from  Chicago  to  the 
New  York  office,  and  relayed  from  there  to- 
destination. 


merchandise  as  palm-leaf  fans,  rattan  and  sea- 
grass  furniture  and  burlaps.  Great  savings 
may  at  certain  times  be  effected  in  connection 
with  goods  of  this  character,  on  which  the 
cost  of  transportation,  because  of  their  bulk 
and  low  value  (ocean  freight  rates  are  based 
either  on  weight  or  on  cubic  measurement)  is 
a  matter  of  very  considerable  moment. 

Also  by  shipping  such  goods  from  the 
Pacific  Coast  to  a  storage  warehouse  in 
Omaha,  Minneapolis  or  some  other  point  west 
of  Chicago,  instead  of  to  that  city  itself,  dis- 
tribution can  be  effected  with  a  considerable 


150 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


reduction  in  the  outlay  for  freight  charges. 
Study  of  these  matters  is  all  the  more  de- 
sirable because  the  imported  merchandise 
handled  by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  includes  not 
only  goods  for  sale,  but  materials  for  use  in 
the  factories  of  the  firm,  such  as  raw  cotton 
from  China,  which  goes  to  the  blanket  mills  at 
Draper  and  Spray,  N.  C,  and  the  aforemen- 
tioned burlap  which  is  a  "raw  material"  em- 
ployed in  the  firm's  bag  factory  in  Chicago. 

IN  previous  chapters  reference  has  been 
made  to  some  of  the  foreign  offices  main- 
tained by  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  Such  offices 
are  now  maintained  in  London,  Notting- 
ham, Belfast,  Paris,  Calais,  Lyons,  St.  Gall, 
Hong-Kong,  Shanghai,  Yokohama,  Kobe  and 
Manila. 

The  London  office  takes  charge  of  the  ma- 
jority of  matters  relating  to  England,  includ- 
ing some  of  those  connected  with  the  firm's 
transactions  in  Nottingham.  The  office  in  the 
latter  center,  however,  is  responsible  for  cer- 
tain work,  notably  the  supplying  of  yarns  to 
the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  lace  plant  at  Zion 
City,  111.  The  Belfast  office  has  to  do  with  the 
development  of  handkerchiefs,  a  line  of  mer- 
chandise which,  as  shown  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter, has  come  to  be  a  big  factor  of  the  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  business.  The  firm's  affairs 
in  Scotland  are  also  taken  care  of  by  the  Bel- 
fast office. 


The  Paris  office  is  a  mighty  busy  place. 
One  reason  for  this  is  the  periodical  trips  to 
the  European  markets  made  by  numerous 
members  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s  retail  and 
wholesale  organizations.  Many  of  the  section 
heads  of  the  retail  store  in  Chicago  visit  Eu- 
rope once  a  year  and  some  of  them  twice  a 
year.  The  Paris  office,  too,  comes  into  close 
contact  with  the  firm's  offices  in  Calais  and 
Lyons,  the  former  in  connection  with  laces  and 
the  latter  with  silks,  ribbons,  veilings,  etc. 
Still  more  important  are  the  functions  of  the 
Paris  office  in  relation  to  the  production  at 
Grenoble  and  other  French  centers  of  kid 
gloves,  of  which  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  are 
large  importers. 

What  has  been  accomplished  by  the  firm's 
offices  in  St.  Gall,  Switzerland,  in  connection 
with  the  production  of  handkerchiefs  and 
watches,  and  by  its  offices  in  Japan  with  re- 
gard to  brushes  and  other  goods,  has  been 
touched  on  in  previous  chapters.  Similar  in- 
stances of  co-operation  with  the  manufacturer 
might  be  related  in  connection  with  all  of  the 
firm's  offices  abroad;  for  the  principal  func- 
tions of  these  offices  include  not  only  the  ac- 
quisition and  shipping  of  merchandise,  but 
also  a  constant  effort  to  make  sure  that  the 
merchandise  turned  out  for  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  shall  meet  all  of  the  firm's  requirements. 
These,  as  we  have  shown,  are  stringent  in  the 
extreme. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
THE  CHIEF  EXECUTIVES  OF  THE  INSTITUTION 


AMONG  the  many  outstanding  character- 
istics of  the  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  in- 
stitution is  its  permanence.  When  one 
considers  the  number  of  great  institutions  en- 
gaged in  various 
lines  of  business 
that  have  disap- 
peared since  the 
death  of  their 
founder  one  is 
able  to  realize 
that  there  must 
have  been  some- 
thing out  of  the 
ordinary  in  the 
development  of 
Marshall  Field 
&  Co.'s  business, 
some  vital,  virile 
quality  which 
made  possible  the 
foreseeing 
of  trade  develop- 
ments and  the 
ready  adaptation 
of  policies  and 
methods  to  each 
new  condition  as 
it  arose. 

How  different 
from  the  record 
of  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  has  been 
that  of  A.  T. 
Stewart  &  Co., 
for    example! 

This  New  York  institution  grew  and  flour- 
ished; it  became  famous  the  country  over; 
its  transactions  ran  into  the  millions.  Yet 
shortly  after  the  death  of  the  man  who  had 
built  it  and  directed  its  operations  it  passed 
out  of  existence. 

The  Marshall  Field  business  continued  its 


President  John  G.  Shcdd 
From  a  recent  photograph 


healthy,  pulsing,  living  existence  because  Mr. 
Field  knew  how  to  develop  capable,  aggressive 
and  progressive  aids  and  understudies. 
His    confidence    in    the    results    of    what    he 

was  constantly 
accomplishing  in 
this  direction  is 
graphically  illus- 
trated in  a  re- 
mark attributed 
to  him. 

"Mr.  Field," 
some  one  asked 
him,  "what  would 
you     do    if     Mr. 

(one  of 

h  i  s  partners) 
were  to  leave 
you?" 

"I  guess  we'd 
have  to  hire  an- 
other office  boy," 
was  the  unex- 
pected answer. 

This  reply 
was  made  with 
no  deroga- 
tory  meaning  or 
intent,  we  may 
be  sure.  What 
the  great  mer- 
chant  had  in 
mind,  no  doubt, 
was  this :  that 
such  a  contin- 
gency was  fully 
provided  for  by  his  consistent  method  of  train- 
ing his  people  and  continually  having  men  in 
line  to  take  the  place  of  anyone,  no  matter  how 
high  up,  who  might  from  one  cause  or  another 
drop  out. 

Mr.  Field  was  like  a  great  general,  who 
knows    that   casualties    are    unavoidable   and 


1.51 


152 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


keeps  in  reserve  not  only  troops  but  also  men 
who  are  able  to  command  them.  In  short,  the 
idea  Mr.  Field  meant  to  convey  was  just  this : 
that  if  one  near  the  top  were  to  leave  the  in- 
stitution there  would  be  such  advancements 
all  along  the  line  that  the  last  vacancy  would 
be — perhaps  not  that  of  an  office  boy;  that 
V  term  was  probably  a  figure  of  speech,  but  one 
that  could  readily  be  filled. 

The  continuance  of  the  business  of  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  is  remarkable  from  another 
standpoint.  Older  men  in  the  dry  goods 
business  can  recall  the  many  New  York  whole- 
sale or  jobbing  houses  that  passed  out  of  ex- 
istence years  before  Marshall  Field's  death, 
houses  like  Bates,  Reed  &  Cooley;  E.  S.  Jaf- 
fray  &  Co.;  Sweetser,  Pembrook  &  Co.;  Lee, 
Tweedie  &  Co.,  and  TefFt,  Weller  &  Co.  The 
trade  of  these  houses  dwindled  away  and 
gradually  they  dried  up.  Why?  Partly  be- 
cause they  were  "one-man"  concerns  and 
when    their    leaders    became    superannuated 

(there  was  no  one  to  take  their  place,  and 
partly  because  they  had  not  adapted  them- 
selves to  the  changes  in  trade  currents  and 
in,  buying  methods. 

To  these  cases  may  be  added  the  extinction 
of  more  than  one  large  wholesale  fiouse  in  St. 
Louis — notably  that  of  Samuel  C.  Davis  &  Co. 

During  the  period  in  which  these  business 
casualties  occurred  Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s 
business  kept  on  increasing  and  growing 
stronger  and  stronger. 

A  third  and  still  more  remarkable  char- 
acteristic of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  is  apparent 
in  the  fact  that  since  the  death  of  its  founder 
the  business  has  not  only  continued  on  a  suc- 
cessful basis  but  has  grown  and  expanded  in 
a  degree  which  it  is  doubtful  whether  Mr. 
Field  himself  fully  foresaw. 

In  an  earlier  chapter  the  story  has  been 
told  of  the  broad  manufacturing  and  convert- 
ing activities  of  the  firm.  The  purchase  of 
the  cotton  mills  at  Spray,  N.  C,  in  1908,  is  a 
striking  instance  of  foresight  on  the  part  of 
the  management.  It  shews  in  an  unmistak- 
able way  their  alertness,  their  keen  realization 
of  the  course  that  must  be  pursued  in  order 


to  make  permanent  the  life  and  progress  of 
their  great  institution. 

This  purchase,  as  has  also  been  related  in 
this  narrative,  was  the  beginning  of  the  firm's 
development  of  great  manufacturing  plants 
in  the  South.  And,  as  also  has  been  told,  in 
addition  to  the  development  at  Spray,  Draper, 
Leaksville,  Fieldale  and  Roanoke,  the  firm  has 
acquired  other  factories  and  brought  their 
products  to  the  highest  possible  standard. 

Along  with  the  extension  of  the  firm's 
manufacturing  activities  there  has  been  con- 
tinuous expansion  of  the  older  branches  of  the 
business.  The  retail  store  to-day  has  won 
such  myriads  of  customers  that  its  sales 
volume  is  beginning  to  approximate  that  of 
the  wholesale. 

This,  again,  is  proof  of  the  foresight 
continually  exercised  by  the  management. 
They  were  fearless  in  providing  the  physical 
facilities  which  increasing  business  would  re- 
quire. The  addition  of  the  six  floors  used  for 
retail  purposes  in  the  21-story  annex  opened 
in  1914  is  but  one  proof  of  the  will  to  serve 
acceptably  the  ever-increasing  throngs. 

The  firm's  wholesale  business,  though 
cramped  by  lack  of  space — even  though  it 
occupies  not  only  a  block  square  8-story  and 
basement  building,  together  with  adjacent 
buildings,  also  shows  continuous  growth,  as 
earlier  chapters  have  shown. 

With  these  facts  in  mind,  readers  of  previ- 
ous chapters  in  this  eventful  history  will  nat- 
urally ksk:  What  manner  of  men  are  they 
who  during  the  later  years  have  had  the  ability 
not  only  to  maintain  the  firm's  high  standing 
in  the  mercantile  world  but  to  broaden  it  out 
in  various  directions? 

President  Shedd's  record  and  characteris- 
tics have  been  discussed  in  previous  chapters. 
He  continues  to  be  a  tower  of  strength  to  the 
business  and  a  source  of  inspiration  to  the  en- 
tire organization.  One  has  only  to  mention  Mr, 
Shedd's  name  to  anyone  connected  with  the 
house,  no  matter  what  that  man  or  woman's 
position  may  be,  and  the  reaction  will  be  the 
same:  the  face  lights  up  with  animation  and 
the  voice  is  indicative  of  admiration  of  Mr, 


The  Chief  Executives  of  the  Institution 


153 


Shedd's  business  qualities,  and  of  love  and  re- 
spect for  him  as  a  man.  Many  of  those  talked 
with  had  known  Mr.  Shedd  for  long  periods, 
having  in  some  instances  been  connected  with 
the  house  for  upward  of  forty  years. 

THE  diamond  medal  was  presented  to  Mr. 
Shedd,  and  his  fiftieth  anniversary  was 
celebrated  on  Aug.  7,  1922;  thirty-four  men, 
each  with  a  fifty  years'  service  record,  partici- 


In  presenting  the  diamond  medal  to  Mr. 
Shedd,  Mr.  Simpson  said: 

"J.  M.  Barrie,  the  great  Scotch  dramatist, 
in  an  address  to  the  graduating  class  of  St. 
Andrew's  University  in  Scotland  in  June  of 
this  year  said:  'God  gave  us  memory  so  that 
we  might  have  roses  in  December,'  and  added 
that  the  people  he  cared  for  most  and  who 
seemed  most  worth  caring  for — his  December 
roses — were  very  simple  folk. 


At  the  luncheon  on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  President  Shedd's  fiftieth  anniversary. 


pated.  This  group  represented  practically 
every  division  of  the  wholesale,  retail  and 
manufacturing  branches  of  the  business,  from 
shipping  departments  to  executive  offices.  The 
celebration  took  place  at  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Charles  H.  Schweppe,  Mr.  Shedd's  daughter. 
It  was  preceded  by  a  luncheon. 

The  fifty-year  medal  was  pinned  on  the 
breast  of  Mr.  Shedd  by  James  Simpson,  first 
vice-president  of  the  company,  amid  the  ap- 
plause of  the  thirty-three  other  medal  bear- 
ers. Mr.  Simpson  himself  has  been  with  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  for  thirty-one  years. 


"I  think  that  Mr.  Shedd's  December  roses 
must,  too,  be  the  memory  of  very  simple  folk. 
His  December  roses,  next  to  his  immediate 
family,  must  be  memories  of  the  men  who  were 
with  the  business  when  he  first  came  to  it, 
back  in  1872— Mr.  Marshall  Field,  J.  N.  Field, 
Leiter,  Higinbotham,  McWilliams,  Templeton, 
Fair,  Woodhouse,  and  last  but  not  least  in 
Mr.  Shedd's  memory  must  stand  clearly  out- 
lined the  figure  of  Mr.  Henry  J.  Willing, 
who,  in  some  respects,  stood  out  from  all  the 
others,  and  who,  perhaps  more  than  any  other 
one,  unless  it  be  Mr.  Field  himself,  exercised 


154 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


the    greatest   influence  on   Mr.   Shedd's  life. 

"Again,  not  the  least  of  Mr.  Shedd's  De- 
cember roses  must  be  the  memory  of  his  close, 
intimate  personal  contact  through  the  years 
with  the  men  who  sit  around  this  board  to-day. 
More  of  his  December  roses  must  be  the 
memory  of  those  many  years  of  hard  work, 
honest  toil  and  successful  accomplishment. 

"One  of  my  December  roses,"  continued 
Mr.  Simpson,  "will  be  the  memory  of  this  oc- 
casion, as  well  as  the  memory  of  my  life  asso- 
ciation with  Mr.  Shedd. 

"I  always  looked  to  Mr.  Field  as  a  son 
would  look  to  a  father,  and  I  have  always  re- 
garded Mr.  Shedd  as  my  big,  older  brother. 
These  two  men  have  had  a  greater  influence  on 
my  life  than  any  others. 

"Mr.  Barrie  also  said  on  the  occasion  of 
this  same  address  that  the  AJmighty  might 
have  provided  us  with  better  fun  than  hard 
work,  but  he  didn't  know  what  it  was.  He 
said  to  be  bom  poor  was  probably  the  next 
best  thing.  Both  of  these  luxuries  Mr.  Shedd 
,and  everyone  at  this  table  have  enjoyed. 

"I  know  of  no  business  institution  in  the 
world  that  can  present  such  a  scene  as  this — 
a  living  record  of  thirty-four  men  who  have 
been  with  it  continuously  fifty  years  or  more. 
It  speaks  eloquently  of  the  rare  spirit  of  fidel- 
ity and  loyalty  both  on  the  part  of  the  em- 
ployees of  the  institution  and  of  the  institu- 
tion itself. 

"The  happy  atmosphere  created  in  this 
business  by  its  founder  and  perpetuated  by 
his  successors  has  created  a  bond  that  unites 
us  all  into  one  great,  happy  family. 

"This  occasion  presents  to  us  the  rare  op- 
portunity of  extending  our  congratulations  to 
our  chief  executive  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  his  coming  to  the  business.  It  is  a  source 
of  great  satisfaction  to  all  of  us  that  he  him- 
self, vigorously  active,  finds  happiness  and  joy 
in  entertaining  similarly  alert,  capable  and 
youthful  pioneers  in  this  organization. 

"There  must  be  some  good  reasons  for  men 
serving  so  long  and  so  faithfully  the  same  em- 
ployer. It  is  a  tribute  to  the  ideals  and  policies 
that  have  been  the  guiding  force  of  our  insti- 


tution. Nothing  could  more  discredit  that  oft- 
repeated  fiction  that  there  is  no  sentiment  in 
business  than  this  gathering.  Our  business 
has  thrived  on  sentiment,  and  cherishes  it  as 
a  priceless  possession.  The  institution  holds 
in  high  regard  each  employee.  It  gives  special 
attention  to  character-building,  it  encourages 
self-reliance,  it  inspires  effort  and  it  is  always 
ready  to  recognize  merit.  These  are  the  chief 
factors  in  its  wonderful  success  in  developing 
character  in  men  as  well  as  character  in  mer- 
chandise. 

"I  feel  it  is  a  great  honor  to  be  the  one 
whose  privilege  it  is  to  express  to  our  chief 
congratulations  and  good  wishes  on  the  com- 
pletion of  this  cycle  of  his  noteworthy  career, 
and  I  want  to  congratulate  you  men  who  have 
aided  him  so  faithfully  these  many  years  in 
serving  the  institution  that  is  so  proud  of  all 
of  you. 

"In  closing,  I  venture  to  express  the  hope 
that  when  I  have  completed  my  own  fifty  years 
of  service  I  may  have  earned  the  right  to  wear 
this  badge  of  distinction  by  the  same  kind  of 
fine,  honorable  service  which  Mr.  Shedd  and 
all  the  others  have  given  this  great  institution. 
I  hope  that  Mr.  Shedd  and  all  of  you  will  have 
many  years  of  health  in  which  to  enjoy  the 
honors  you  are  all  so  justly  entitled  to." 

In  responding,  Mr.  Shedd  said: 

"I  am  very  happy  to  have  you  gentlemen 
here.  We  have  been  associated  so  long  that  it 
seems  as  if  we  were  members  of  the  same 
family,  rather  than  business  associates.  Fifty 
years  is  a  long  time,  and  we  have  seen  many 
changes  in  our  business,  in  the  community  and 
in  the  nation.  But,  whatever  changes  have 
occurred,  we  have  observed  one  thing  in  com- 
mon— the  growth  of  our  institution.  We  have 
seen  it  develop  from  early  beginnings  in  fron- 
tier days  to  become  the  foremost  institution  in 
the  world,  reaching  to  every  continent  for  its 
merchandise,  distributing  to  the  nation's  lead- 
ing retail  merchants  through  its  wholesale 
house,  serving  the  great  metropolis  of  Chicago 
through  its  retail  store,  and  manufacturing  for 
itself  on  a  large  scale  in  order  to  put  quality 
in  merchandise  at  its  source. 


The  Chief  Executives  of  the  Institution 


155 


"Our  institution  is  what  the  people  of 
Chicago  and  the  Central  West  have  demanded 
and  co-operated  with  us  to  build.  From  the 
beginning  it  has  been  an  expression  of  the 
public's  taste  and  need — an  institution  of 
service. 

"It  is  working  out  the  ideals  of  this  insti- 
tution that  has 
kept  us  happy 
and  young,  and 
these  policies, 
also  reflected  in 
the  treatment  of 
every  member 
of  our  organiza- 
tion, have  kept 
us  loyal.  While 
single  minds  may 
have  directed, 
the  composite  ac- 
tivities of  many 
of  you  have  been 
the  real  founda- 
tion of  our  suc- 
cess. Being  fifty 
years  at  Field's 
means  some- 
thing. To-day  we 
have  a  picture 
of  the  results 
achieved  by  the 
policies  of  our 
house.  It  is  a 
great  lesson  to 
the  ambitious 
young,  eager  for 

a    career.      It  Vice-President 

shows    that    pa- 
tience, perseverance  and  integrity  have  their 
sure  reward. 

"I  do  not  have  to  go  back  to  the  remote  past 
to  find  the  many  opportunities  for  success  our 
institution  affords.  They  exist  to  a  far  greater 
degree  to-day.  We  never  go  outside  to  fill  re- 
sponsible positions.  Every  high  official  in  the 
organization  to-day  began  here  in  some  humble 
capacity  and  worked  his  way  up.  And  there 
are  just  as  good  opportunities  now,  for  you 


and  I  will  some  day  make  way  for  younger 
men,  and  they  will  be  men  who  are  now  in  our 
organization. 

"You  and  I  have  seen  Chicago  grow  from 
a  sprawling  town  to  its  present  gigantic  size 
and  become  a  wonder  city  in  beauty  as  well 
as  greatness.    We  are  joyful  to  be  still  active 

while  the  city  is 
unfolding  plans 
for  greater  splen- 
dor —  greater 
progress. 

"I  heartily 
thank  you  gentle- 
men who  con- 
gratulate me  to- 
day, and  I  want, 
in  turn,  to  con- 
gratulate you  on 
being  so  active 
after  fifty  years 
or  more  of  serv- 
ice in  an  absorb- 
ing business." 

1^  0  First  Vice- 
pre  s  i  d  e  n  t 
Simpson  reference 
was  made  in  an- 
other chapter  in 
connection  with 
his  election  as 
second  vice- 
president  after 
the  death  of 
Marshall  Field. 
It  was  also 
stated  that  Mr. 
Simpson  had  been  Mr.  Field's  secretary  for 
business,  had  thereby  acquired  an  exceptionally 
close  intimacy  with  the  affairs  of  the  house  and 
by  contact  with  prominent  financiers  and 
other  men  of  large  interests  had  gained  broad 
viewpoints  and  a  clear  understanding  of 
affairs. 

In  his  early  years  Mr.  Simpson  showed  ex-^ 
traordinary  initiative.    He  was  originally  em- 
ployed in  the  office.     He  had  been  with  the 


James  Simpson 


158 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


concern  only  a  short  time  when  one  day  he 
learned  that  Mr.  Field  was  in  need  of  a  young 
man  for  his  office.  For  that  position  he  made 
application  to  the  office  manager,  but  was 
laughed  at  for  his  pains.  However,  young 
Simpson  was  not  daunted  by  this  refusal. 
He  approached  Mr.  Field  and  told  him  he 
would  like  to  have  the  position.  After  in- 
quiring as  to  the  young  man's  capabilities, 
Mr.  Field  acceded  to  the  request,  and  so  sat- 
isfactory a  secretary  did  the  young  fellow 
prove  that  he  became  Mr.  Field's  right-hand 
man,  and  occupied  that  post  until  his  em- 
ployer's death. 

Especially  good  opportunities  were  af- 
forded to  Mr.  Simpson  to  familiarize  himself 
with  merchandise  because  the  greater  part 
of  the  mail  from  the  New  York  office  passed 
through  his  hands.  This  mail  had  to  do  with 
a  large  proportion  of  the  merchandising  ac- 
tivities of  the  firm.  Of  these  opportunities  he 
availed  himself  in  the  fullest  degree,  and,  not 
content  with  thus  acquiring  information,  he 
sought  knowledge  from  other  sources.  He 
made  it  his  business  to  interview  frequently 
merchandise  men,  department  heads  and  sales- 
men. By  such  means  he  acquired  so  full  and 
accurate  a  knowledge  of  the  business  that 
when  asked  a  question  by  Mr.  Field  he  could 
nearly  always  give  a  satisfactory  answer. 

Mr.  Simpson's  association  with  the  firm 
extends  over  thirty  years,  and  he  is  credited 
with  having  played  an  especially  important 
part  in  the  expansion  of  the  business  during 
the  latter  half  of  this  period.  He  is  to-day 
rated  as  one  of  Chicago's  most  prominent 
business  men.  The  estimation  in  which  his 
abilities  are  held  is  attested  by  his  appoint- 
ment in  January,  1918,  as  a  director  of  the 
Federal  Eeserve  Bank  of  Chicago  and  also  as 
deputy  chairman  of  the  bank's  Board  of  Di- 
rectors. 

During  the  early  stages  of  the  war 
Mr.  Simpson  had  charge  of  several  Lib- 
erty Loan  organizations  in  the  Seventh 
(Chicago)  Federal  Reserve  District.  When 
the  United  States  entered  the  world  war 
Quartermaster   General    Goethals    urged   Mr. 


Simpson  to  take  charge  of  purchases  for  the 
Army.  Mr.  Hoover  was  eager  to  have  him 
as  an  assistant  in  the  Food  Administration. 
The  Red  Cross  also  sought  Mr.  Simpson's 
services.  He  felt,  however,  that  for  the  time 
being  at  least  he  ought  to  remain  in  Chicago 
and  devote  most  of  his  attention  to  the  busi- 
ness of  the  firm,  and  at  the  same  time  be  in 
a  position  to  aid  these  various  war  activities 
with  his  advice  and  counsel. 

While  in  France  for  the  Red  Cross  Mr. 
Simpson  came  closely  in  touch  with  the  fight- 
ing forces.  On  many  occasions  he  was  under 
fire,  acting  for  hours  at  a  time  as  a  stretcher 
bearer.  Once  he  was  in  the  front  line  for 
seventy-two  hours  before  being  relieved. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  Mr.  Simpson's 
strong  belief  in  the  future  of  Chicago.  He  is 
an  active  member  of  the  organization  which 
is  pushing  toward  completion  the  waterways 
project  which  will  connect  Chicago  with  the 
Mississippi  by  way  of  a  canal  and  the  Illinois 
River.  Still  more  impressed  is  he  with  the 
possibilities  for  Chicago  that  lie  in  the  pro- 
posed ship  canal  connecting  the  Great  Lakes 
with  the  St.  Lawrence. 

Stanley  Field,  who  had  been  1st  vice- 
president,  retired  from  active  participation  in 
the  management  in  November,  1917,  and  has 
since  devoted  his  time  to  the  management  of 
his  private  affairs  and  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  as  trustee  of  the  estate  of  his  father, 
Joseph  N.  Field,  and  as  president  of  the  Field 
Museum. 

Mr.  Simpson  then  entered  on  his  present 
office  of  first  vice-president. 

John  McKinlay  was  employed  by  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.,  retail,  Aug.  29,  1888,  when  just 
fourteen  years  old,  as  a  cashboy,  at  $2  a  week. 
During  the  following  thirteen  years  he  held 
consecutively  the  following  positions:  Office 
boy  in  the  credit  office,  collector,  bookkeeper 
and  credit  man.  In  1901  he  was  made  office 
manager  for  the  entire  retail  business.  This 
position  he  held  until  1911,  when  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  wholesale  department  as  an  ac- 
countant in  the  executive  offices.  In  January, 
1916,  he  was  given  the  title  of  treasurer,  and 


The  Chief  Executives  of  the  Institution 


159 


on  Nov.  15,  1917,  that  of  2nd  vice-president. 
D.  M.  Yates,  now  general  manager  of  the 
retail,  entered  the  employ  of  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  thirty-four  years  ago,  or,  to  be  exact, 
on  Oct.  4,  1887,  as  a  salesman  in  the  lining 
department  of  the  retail  store.  In  1893  he 
went  into  the  house  furnishings  department 
and  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  basement  up- 
holsteries section.  This  change  brought  Mr. 
Yates  in  contact  with  Mr.  Shedd.  At  that 
time  Mr.  Shedd  had  charge  of  a  number  of 
departments  in  the  wholesale,  among  his  goods 
being  lace  curtains,  which  naturally  were 
handled  in  the  basement  upholsteries  section. 

In  1900  Mr.  Yates  became  connected  with 
the  superintendent's  office.  He  also  had  to 
do  with  the  maintenance  of  the  building  and 
with  the  buying  of  supplies.  He  became  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  retail  on  the  death  of 
Lindsay  T.  Woodcock  in  1915. 

One  of  the  strongest  men  in  the  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  organization  to-day  is  W.  H. 
Mann,  general  manager  of  the  wholesale.  Mr. 
Mann  has  been  connected  with  the  firm  since 
1912.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Wisconsin.  He  began  his  business  career  with 
the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad.  Three 
years  later  he  went  into  the  publishing  busi- 
ness, where  he  won  a  reputation  for  foresight 
and  executive  ability.  On  entering  the  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  organization  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  department  handling  the 
products  of  the  firm's  mill  at  Monticello,  Ind., 
which,  as  has  been  said,  manufactures  knit- 
ting yarns,  crochet  cottons,  spool  cotton  and 
other  needlework  supplies.  After  acting  as 
a  salesman  in  the  department  for  some  time, 
he  went  on  the  road,  subsequently  being  made 
assistant  general  sales  manager. 

Mr.  Mann  became  general  manager  of  the 
wholesale  in  December,  1917. 

Frederick  D.  Corley  was  made  merchan- 
dise manager  of  the  retail,  which  position  he 
now  occupies,  on  Feb.  8,  1916. 

He  was  born  at  Tower  Hill,  111.,  Dec.  19, 
1881,  and  entered  the  employ  of  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  July  23,  1900,  as  a  stock  boy  in 
the  millinery  department,  at  a  salary  of  $4  a 


week.  Shortly  afterwards  he  became  book- 
keeper in  the  same  department.  In  1903  he 
was  made  assistant  department  manager  of 
the  basement  millinery,  and  from  1905  until 
1911  was  assistant  manager  of  the  millinery 
for  the  entire  store. 

In  1911  Mr.  Corley  was  made  manager  of 
the  sections  for  women's  suits,  skirts  and 
dresses,  and  in  1912  manager  of  women's, 
misses'  and  children's  outer  apparel  sec- 
tions. On  Aug.  5,  1915,  he  was  appointed 
assistant  general  manager  under  Mr.  Yates 
and  assistant  merchandise  manager. 

W.  G.  Burt  was  bom  July  4,  1876,  in 
Chicago.  His  parents  were  of  old  New  Eng- 
land stock,  of  English  and  Scottish  descent. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and 
at  Northwestern  University. 

Mr.  Burt  was  first  employed  by  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.,  wholesale,  Sept.,  1896,  as  stock 
bookkeeper  in  the  prints  section,  where  he 
became  a  floor  salesman.  After  about  two 
years  he  was  transferred  to  the  wholesale 
linens,  white  goods  and  handkerchiefs.  He 
represented  these  sections  in  the  Western 
States  for  five  years.  This  was  followed  by 
inside  office  and  department  merchandise  ex- 
perience for  two  years.  He  was  then  trans- 
ferred to  New  York,  in  charge  of  opening 
wholesale  selling  organizations.  In  1910  he 
was  transferred  to  Chicago  and  placed  in 
charge  of  the  prints  and  the  printed-and-dyed 
decorative  fabrics,  widely  known  under  the 
branded  name  of  Colonial  Drapery  Fabrics. 

In  1916  Mr.  Burt  was  placed  in  charge  of 
all  the  higher  class  interior  decorative  and  up- 
holstery goods  in  the  wholesale  and  in  the 
following  year  he  was  appointed  associate 
general  merchandise  manager  of  wholesale 
sections. 

Mr.  Burt  has  been  especially  connected 
with  the  development  of  the  New  York  selling 
organizations,  converting  work  and  styling 
and  creating  of  merchandise. 

Geo.  L.  Veatch  was  first  employed  by  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Co.  in  July,  1887,  as  office  boy 
in  the  auditing  department.  After  two  and 
a  half  years'  experience  in  the  auditing  depart- 


160 


The  Life  Story  of  a  Great  Concern 


ment,  the  upholsteries  section  and  stock  room 
Mr.  Veatch  was  made  a  city  salesman.  Six 
months  later,  at  the  age  of  19,  he  covered  the 
Far-Western  territory  with  the  upholstery  and 
bedding  lines. 

He  was  returned  to  the  house  at  the  age 
of  twenty-seven  as  assistant  manager  of  the 
upholsteries  section  and  was  active  in  the 
establishment  of  the  bedding  factory  in  Chi- 
cago and  the  bedspread  mill  in  Zion  City,  and 
subsequently  in  the  development  of  the  do- 
mestic lines  manufactured  by  Marshall  Field 
&  Co.  at  Spray. 

In  1910  Mr.  Veatch  was  placed  in  charge 
of  bedding,  and  in  1915  was  made  the  head 
of  the  entire  group  of  domestic  sections. 

In  1917  he  was  appointed  associate  gen- 
eral merchandise  manager  of  the  wholesale. 

Thomas  H.  Eddy  entered  the  employ  of 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.  in  September,  1888,  in 
the  general  office.  He  was  in  that  office  about 
five  years,  doing  all  the  kinds  of  work  now 
done  in  Auditing  No.  2  and  Accounting  Office 
— office  boy,  invoice  clerk,  merchandise  ledger, 
bank  accounts,  stock  and  sales  statements,  re- 
mittances and  general  work  in  closing  books. 

Entering  the  foreign  office  in  1893  as  Mr. 
Barnhart's  assistant,  doing  all  the  various 
branches  of  the  foreign  work,  Mr.  Eddy,  about 
1909,  also  began  assisting  Mr.  Barnhart  in 
employing  help.    In  1912  or  1913  he  took  over 


the  employing  of  all  department  employees 
and  salesmen. 

He  assumed  his  present  position  in  1917. 
This  entails  sup>ervision  of  wholesale  proper- 
ties, wholesale  and  retail  delivery  systems, 
wholesale  packing,  shipping  and  receiving, 
wholesale  and  retail  warehouse  systems,  and 
wholesale  traffic  matters. 

It  is  manifest,  indeed,  as  President  Shedd 
recently  remarked,  that  "the  founders  of  a 
business  stamp  their  individuality  on  that 
business,  it  never  fully  outgrows  them,"  He 
continued: 

"Marshall  Field,  with  his  great  example  of 
what  high  purpose  and  character  should  be, 
gave  to  this  firm  its  ideals.  Levi  Z.  Leiter, 
Henry  J.  Willing,  Lorenzo  G.  Woodhouse, 
Harlow  N.  Higinbotham,  all  imbued  with 
these  same  ideals,  also  stamped  their  char- 
acter, their  individuality  on  the  business;  and 
thus  those  ideals  have  become  the  very  back- 
bone of  the  organization. 

"The  men  now  in  charge  of  this  business," 
added  Mr.  Shedd,  "were  thoroughly  schooled 
under  Marshall  Field  and  his  lieutenants,  and 
these  present  managers  are  training  another 
set  to  take  their  places  when  they  will  be  gone. 
Thus,  the  Marshall  Field  ideals,  both  in  the 
conduct  of  the  business  itself  and  in  the  mci- 
chandise  it  carries,  will  be  perpetuated." 


R 
T 


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